The Wanna'bes
by kathey'ssis
Summary: This is the sequel to the story 'Another Fishing Trip, Where Roy, John, and Chet met some new friends in Julie Clark and Frank Dillan. This story picks up about three months after the last one left off so you might want to read the first story before taking this one on. There are little things that will make more sense if you do.
1. Chapter 1

This is the follow-up to the story 'Another Fishing Trip' where John, Roy and Chet make some new friends in Frank Dillon and Julie Clark. Julie just happens to be the daughter of one of Hank's former Captains and once had a severe crush on him. For the sake of guessing I'll say that this story takes up about three months after the last one lets off and I would recommend very much reading the other first because there are little things here and there that will make more sense if you do.

The Wana'bes

John turned into the drive that led to the back of the station. As he pulled in he noticed an unfamiliar car pull over in front of the station and through his rear view mirror he noticed Chet Kelly climb out of the passenger door. Stopping briefly to turn around and examine the driver of the car John could only tell that it was a woman dressed in a white nurse's uniform and with a smirk and a shake of his head John pulled on into a parking slot then hurried in to greet his coworker.

John was surprised that Chet wasn't standing in front of his locker when he reached the locker room and even more surprised with the slow steps Chet took when he entered.

John had already pulled his shirt off when Chet walked in. "Looks like you got lucky after the bowling match last night." John grinned and turned to his locker.

"What?" John heard Chet question in a voice that sounded disoriented and caused him to turn his complete attention onto his friend and coworker. John's first thoughts were that Chet was hung-over and he couldn't quite believe that Chet would do anything as irresponsible as to show up to work in that condition.

"Wasn't that Julie that just dropped you off?"

"No, no I ah, I don't know who she was. I didn't get her name." Chet turned to face John with a look of confusion and then he sort of stumbled. John grabbed for his friends upper arm to steady him and ease him to a sitting position on the bench.

Once Chet turned to face him, John's eyes opened wide. The confused sounding voice was enough to cause concern but the look on his face confirmed the confusion. Then looking a little lower John noticed that the area of Chet's neck that showed between the top few unbuttoned buttons of his shirt was black and blue, brightly black and blue.

"Are you okay, Chet?" John asked while giving Marco a look that sent him into action to go find the Captain.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I think, um, anyway I've been cleared for duty," Chet responded. His voice was slower than usual but his words were clear and not slurred, there was no smell of alcohol on his breath but John was sure he was slightly impaired. He worried about getting his friend into trouble with the Captain but there was no way he was safe to be on duty. What did he mean when he said he had been cleared for duty?

By the time John had counted a pulse and respirations, Cap was through the door and he too was quick to see the bruises on his lineman's neck.

"Hey, Chet, what seems to be the problem here?" Hank questioned as he locked eyes with John to see that there was indeed something to be concerned about.

"No, no problem, Cap, Why do you ask?"

Cap picked up on the sound of the man's voice and his first response was to check Chet's breath for the smell of alcohol. He knew the absence of the smell was not proof that he was sober but just like John he had trouble believing his trusted lineman would show up for work while being intoxicated. But still something wasn't right and what was the story behind the bruises?

"That's not a hickey is it?" Hank spoke softly for John's ears only as he gestured toward Chet's neck.

John carefully pulled Chet's shirt collar away from his neck and noticed that the bruising went all the way around the front of his neck, and toward the shoulders there was obvious markings left by fingers. John shook his head negatively to his Captain's question. His friend had been strangled, that much was for sure.

"What do you say we have John and Roy check you out there, pal?" Hank carefully ordered.

"NO," Chet paused and took a breath and blew it out. "There's no reason to do that."

"Are you challenging your Captain?" Hank spoke sternly.

"NO, no, Cap, nothing like that. It's just that I've already been checked out by a doctor." Chet reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I've been cleared for duty, he even had one of his nurses drive me to work."

Hank took the paper from Chet's hand and unfolded it. "I, um, I just feel a little off this morning, I'm not sure, I'm not sure I should really be here." Chet shared his honest feelings as he slumped on the bench.

Hank shared eye contact with John again before turning his attention to the paper in his hands. Everyone noticed Hank's eyes go wide. "You spent last night in intensive care over at Harbor!"

"Yeah, they said it was for observation and to make sure the swelling in my throat wouldn't cause problems with my breathing."

"I don't know there, Chet. There's quite a list of things to be careful not to do here. What do you say we have John and Roy look you over good and then call our docs to get a second opinion on this release for duty? You look like maybe you should be home in bed not pulling hose."

Chet looked at John and gave a subtle acceptance to his orders.

"Let's move him into the day room where he can sit in a chair with a back on it," John instructed and Cap stepped forward to take one of Chet's arms while Marco ran for the drug box from the squad.

Roy was already dressed and reading a book while enjoying a morning cup of coffee when the men eased through the door. He quickly jumped into the action and with two shifts still in the building Chet soon had four paramedics looking him over while Hank moved to the phone to call Rampart and give them the information on the paper he was holding before handing the phone to one of the paramedics.

"Rampart, this is Captain Stanley of Station 51. We seem to have a man down here at the station; could you please get a doctor ready for my men to inform him of their findings." Hank had just been told that there would be a doctor available in a few minutes when the next line into the station rang.

Hank put the first line on hold and answered the second line prepared to make it a short call. "Los Angeles County Fire Station 51, Captain Stanley speaking,"

"Captain Stanley, this is Chris Kelly, Chet Kelly's sister, I'm trying to find my brother. Is he by any chance at the fire station?"

"Yes he is." Hank was surprised at the call.

"Captain Stanley, he's not well, he was injured last night and left the hospital this morning against his doctors instructions."

"Miss, he's being looked at as we speak but I'm a little confused, he handed me a release from his doctor and claims he had his nurse drive him to work this morning."

Hank could hear talking in the background on the phone then a new voice came to the phone. "Who was the doctor that signed the form you're holding?"

Hank looked at the usual places for official signatures and then twisted the paper to try and decipher the doctor's name. "It's kinda hard to tell, but who ever sighed this is definitely a doctor. I can recognize the MD on the end of it but I'm not sure, ah… I think his name starts with a T, maybe Thomas and then next capital letter looks like a, well I think it's either a G or a C put I'm not sure."

Hank heard a huge sigh on the other end of the phone and then silence followed a moment later by a deep breath. "Henry, get him to Rampart. I'll have Dr. Milner call in a consultation and whatever you do, don't let that piece of paper out of your hands. Have them photo copy it for their files but keep the original, do you understand?"

Hank was surprised by what he was hearing but once he had been addressed by his given name instead of the nickname he preferred he knew who was talking to him and felt as if he could trust her. The hushed, almost whisper, in which she gave her last instructions had him feeling something sinister had happened. He said a quick goodbye then went back to the line where the hospital was on hold. Dr. Brackett was just picking up the phone when he did.

"51, this is Dr. Brackett. What have you got there?"

Just then a man walked up to Hank in uniform announcing he was a replacement for his injured lineman and Hank was sure once again that something was amiss.

"Dr. Brackett, we have a man that reported for duty this morning that seems a little off, when we questioned him he said he was cleared for duty this morning and was even given a ride to work by the doctor's nurse. According to the papers he handed me he spent the night in ICU at Harbor Medical and he is showing some impressive bruising around his throat and one shoulder. I just got a call from his sister looking for him and she states he's listed as checking out against medical advice from said intensive care unit. I've been advised to get him back to you as quickly as possible. I'll give the phone to one of my paramedics to update you on their findings and vitals and such."

Roy took the phone and started calling out vitals which were all stable and in good range before he did his best to describe the extent and location of the bruising. While Roy talked to the doctor, Johnny was looking his friend over good and found the sight of the newly discontinued IV as well as the puncture points on both wrists for blood gasses and another puncture site he guessed was for blood drawn for lab work.

He found Chet cooperative and willingly submitting to the exam but was stunned by his appearance. He had just spent the night before with him and a mutual friend bowling and all had been fine with his fellow firefighter when Chet left to take their friend back to his dorm.

"What happened to you, Chet? Frank didn't do this to you did he?"

"No, not Frank, well he was sort of responsible for the bruise on my chest here," Chet pointed to his chest, "but um, well I guess you could say I was being fought over."

"Just tell me what happened." John could see Chet was having trouble putting it all together.

"When I got Frank back to his training center last night there was a new guy there that I hadn't met before. As soon as we were through the door he and Frank started getting into it over whose friend I was and before I knew it the other guy had his arm around my neck trying to pull me off somewhere. It was kind of hard to breathe and I remember Frank calling for Jake, the guy on duty, and then trying to pull this other guy's arm away from my throat. At one point he put one hand on my chest and was pushing while he pulled at the guy's arm with his other hand. When the staff got involved I remember trying to relax in hopes that I'd be able to breathe a little until they got the other guy off of me and then the next thing I know I'm coming around and I've got an oxygen mask being held tight to my face and Daines out of 49's saying that I was breathing on my own now and was starting to come around." Chet paused in his narrative as the four paramedics looking him over exchanged concerned looks. "While the paramedics out of 49's were working on me I was aware of Frank holding my hand and the other kid off in a corner with police and Jake, and he was just pouting about how Frank wouldn't share."

It was recommended that Chet be placed on oxygen and he was surprisingly calm as they laid him out on the stretcher when the ambulance arrived. Hank requested the outgoing Captain to remain on duty while he went with Chet to the hospital to find out what happened.

True to his instructions, Hank did not let the paper detailing Chet's release from his grip. He even insisted on photo copying it himself. Before a fresh set of x-rays were completed a Doctor Milner and the Administrator from Harbor Medical were in Rampart's Emergency Department talking with Dr. Brackett.

It was the administrator from Harbor who requested the release document from Hank several times but Hank wouldn't give it up. He once again made a copy of it and let the man take that but it had been clear from the first moment that the administrator was most interested in damage control and protecting his hospital. Both men from Harbor left after it was determined that Chet would be admitted into Rampart for the time being. Hank returned to the station with his paramedics and the original copy of Chet's release papers.

A few minutes after everyone had left, Dr. Milner returned to the emergency department and seeing Dr. Brackett standing in the hall looking over a chart he quietly stepped up to him and touched his arm to get his attention. "Is there someplace private we can talk for a moment?"

Kell quickly lead him to his office.

As soon as Dr. Milner sat in the chair that Kell motioned him to, he started to talk. "You're a doctor of high reputation and I'm sure you didn't buy a word of what the administrator was trying to bluff. I'm here to tell you you're right and add one more little piece of information before I ask a huge favor of you. First of all, you have to know that Dr. Thomas Crammer is an exceptional doctor but I'm not defending his actions in this case. He never should have even looked at this man seeing as it was his little brother that attacked him."

"I see," Kell sighed in understanding, "He was trying to lessen the extent of the injuries in an attempt to keep his brother from facing criminal charges."

"More like keep him from being removed from the facility he's currently in." Dr. Milner went farther than he had intended, "His brother is mentally handicapped, it's unlikely he would be deemed competent to face any charges. As far as Dr. Crammer goes, I think we can both be pretty sure the administrator is going to see to it that it's going to be very difficult to prove any wrong doing on his part even with that piece of paper that Mr. Kelly's captain wisely kept a hold of.

"That leads to the big favor I'm about to ask. The nurse that put all the pieces together, or rather the student nurse, well she's almost finished with her clinicals but if she has to work with Crammer during her ER rotation, he'll see to it that she's washed out or at least black listed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Roy and Johnny checked in on Chet every time they brought a patient in to Rampart. All afternoon they found him sleeping comfortably needing only a nasal cannula to meet his oxygen needs. Every time they returned to the station from Rampart, Cap was waiting for a report on his lineman. It was their last trip up to Chet's room that evening, just before visiting hours closed for the night that they finally found Chet awake. Not only was he awake he looked and acted like himself and he also had other visitors.

"R…Roy! J…Johnny!" Frank greeted loud enough to wake every patient on the floor.

With smiles on their faces Roy reached out to shake Frank's hand only to be pulled into an exuberant hug. Johnny was captured next and given his hug. Julie just remained on the other side of the bed and smiled at the two paramedics as they interacted with the mentally handicapped young man she held guardianship over.

"You sure look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you." Julie reached out to shake hands with Roy.

"I'm feeling a lot better, too. I don't think I ever properly thanked you for everything you did for us after the accident and then getting me home when complications set in. Thank you so much. I know my wife asked several times for me to invite you over for dinner some night but I didn't know how to get a hold of you. And I know that dinner invitation includes Frank here." Roy reached out and put his arm around Frank's shoulders and gave him a sideways squeeze.

"We can c…come on S…S…Saturday," Frank volunteered. "I can h…help f…fix d…dinner and then we can g…go bowling afterword. Mrs. Roy c…can c…come, t…too."

Roy smiled to buy time as he thought through his schedule. He was off that day so he thought they might be able to work that out. "What do you say I talk with my wife and we'll have Chet tell you what time, okay?"

"Well, we have to be going so that I can get Frank back before curfew," Julie said with a smile. "We'll be here about three tomorrow afternoon to take you home. Oh. Jake and I got your van to your apartment this afternoon. Some of the residents were so happy to see it there this morning that they spent the whole day looking in every closet and drawer to find out where you were hiding."

Chet laughed and Julie made her way out stopping to give Roy a kiss on the cheek, really she was whispering in his ear. "I know you don't realize it yet but in Frank's language you just said yes to Saturday night and the only things he knows how to cook so far other than canned soups and vegetables, are mac & cheese and Rice-a-Roni."

After Julie and Frank left, the three firemen, one a patient, turned serious. "Thanks, guys, for taking care of me this morning. Dr. Brackett sat down with me once I finally slept off the drugs they gave me and explained what he and some other doctors are sure really happened. He thinks that they were trying to get me fired from the fire department to ruin my credibility if I tried to take the kid that attacked me to court."

"Well Cap's still got that release form you had in your pocket with the doctor's signature and I can testify that you were dropped off at the station by someone in a nurse's uniform," Johnny informed his friend with more than a hint of anger in his voice.

"What are you going to do?" Roy questioned. He, too, knew his friend had a good case.

"Dr. Brackett said that the drugs I had in my system can affect my judgment for a couple of days so I think I'll wait 'til I'm home and then maybe talk to someone first. Brackett said I should be able to go back to work next shift. He'll have me come in the night before so he can check me out first though."

"Well you look tons better already. I just hope you can sleep tonight after sleeping all day long." John gave one of his patented smiles along with a slap on Chet's leg.

The overhead paging system announced the end of visiting hours so the two paramedics moved toward the door. "Everyone says to tell you 'hi' and we'll look forward to seeing you back at work next shift."

Chet did have kind of a restless night but still slept enough to feel rested when the hospital staff started running all the blood tests the doctor ordered so the results would be ready when the doctor did his rounds.

As soon as his shift mates were released from duty they all stopped by to check on their friend and were pleased to find him looking so much better and that his black and blue marks were starting to fade to green and yellow.

Chet spent the day having some tests run to confirm there were no fractures in the small bones in his throat and no brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Later that afternoon Julie and Frank arrived to give Chet a ride home where Frank used his color coded measuring cups and spoons and his special cook book to fix a dinner of a macaroni and cheese casserole with tuna and vegetables and instant pudding for dessert.

While Frank was alone in the kitchen laboriously cooking, Julie sat with Chet where she could watch every move her charge made. Chet sat next to her and smiled as he watched the pride in her eyes as well as noticed the extreme effort it was taking for her to stay sitting and let Frank cook by himself.

"So how are your clinicals coming?" Chet tried some small talk to help Julie relax a little. He also wanted to find out something else. "Are there any problems for you from calling my little issue to someone's attention?"

For the first time Julie took her eyes of Frank as she turned to look Chet eye to eye. "Nothing really, it's just been decided that it would be best for all involved if I transferred over to Rampart to finish my clinicals. I start in the Emergency Department there tomorrow."

"Don't blame yourself; this is actually a better deal for me." Julie started to absolve Chet of any guilt he was feeling. "They've got a head nurse there that is former military and she'll help me understand Dr. Frick and the way he works better for when I finish my degree and go back home."

"Is there any chance of convincing you to stay around here when you're done with school?" Chet once again brought Julie's eyes away from Frank and his work as she turned a surprised look in Chet's direction.

Chet let the silence linger for just a moment but then Julie's questioning stare started getting to him. "I mean, well I know I'm not a Roy or a Carl but I think you're a very special person and I like your company."

Julie was unable to answer Chet's question but Chet could tell that she was thinking about it and that was enough for him at the moment.

As if to change the subject, Julie cleared her throat. "There's a question I've been wanting to ask you. I'm really amazed at how good you are with Frank and at least most of the residents at the training center. Is there someone in your family like Frank?"

Chet smiled and then grimaced a little. "Not in my family but when I was a kid, oh say around eight, nine years old, a family moved in next door that had a son with Down's syndrome. The couple even took in foster kids with the same problem from time to time. The foster kids never stayed long, no more than a couple of months. They were just there until they could find the proper facility to place them. I think they might have become that kind of facility if it weren't that the neighbors made it clear that they didn't want to have that kind of thing in their back yard.

"I think it was listening to the adults talk that got us kids all worked up but that's still no excuse for the way we treated Chris. He just wanted someone to play with. Every time we'd ride our bikes past his yard he'd run up to the fence and try to talk with us. One day we filled a bunch of squirt guns, three or four a piece, with every vile thing we could think of. Paint, cleaning fluids, I think one of the guys urinated it his. Anyway when Chris ran up to see us we lured him into a corner of his yard so that we could get at him from more directions and let him have it. Someone managed to get him in the eye with something that burned and well, we all got in trouble. The police were called and we were all told that we had to go over and apologize. My mom went one step farther and went over to get to know the parents and find out what I could do to really repent for my wrongdoings. Anyway, part of my punishment became going over and reading to Chris three days a week for a month. It was a real lesson in rebuilding trust. The first few times I read to him he locked the screen door to keep me out and I had to set on the porch and read to him through the screen. Then around the second week he unlocked the door and came to sit by me so that he could see the pictures. I remember being really surprised that he was capable of locking and unlocking the door. I later found out he could play some board games and was actually pretty good at checkers.

"Anyway when the month was up I continued to read to him. The kids who had helped me do such hateful things to him turned on me for a while but Chris and I became friends. I don't know what more I can say, we became the kind of friends that the other boys had never been."

Chet's eyes grew moist and Julie smiled. "Where is Chris now?"

"He passed away when he was about fourteen. He got Leukemia." Chet took a moment to get his remembered emotions in check. "The family decided to stop treatment after the first couple of weeks in the hospital. When I found out I was furious, I thought it was just because he was, you know, handicapped, One day I saw his father out working in the yard and I gave him a piece of my mind. Man, if my mom had heard some of the words I said that day, I'd have been eating soap for a month.

"Anyway a few hours later both his mom and dad came over and asked my parents if they could talk with me and once I realized I wasn't in for the worst punishment of my life they explained that the treatment made Chris so sick that he couldn't enjoy life and that at the best it was only going to lengthen his life by a month, maybe two at the most. So they chose to take him to Disneyland once every couple of weeks and let him have fun as long as he could instead of just making the rest of his life miserable with chemotherapy."

There was a somber silence between Chet and Julie then Chet spoke again showing his admiration for Julie. "In a lot of ways Chris was the best friend I ever had. As far as the kids at the training center go, I just pretty much follow your lead. You are so good with them and help them get the most out of the life that they have."

"I'm not sure why we call them kids." Julie smiled with moist eyes as she turned her attention back to Frank who was successfully finishing up dinner. "Frank there is actually five years older than I am."

With no words to say for the moment they watched Frank move the food to the table in silence and snickered very quietly as they watched him consult a special page in his cook book to guide him in setting the table.

Once the meal was served dinner conversation was turned over to Frank who talked about his job trial at the police station washing the police cars. "It was o…o…okay I…I g…guess. The o…other g…guy with me k…k…kept t…turning on the s…sirens so we m…might not go b…back t…there for a w…while. I asked R…Rick if I c…could get a job trial w…washing f…f…fire engines, but he said y…y…you firemen w…wash your own t…trucks cause y…you're not as b…busy as p…p…policemen."

"That's right we do wash our own trucks for lots of reasons not just because we're not as busy. We have to make sure all of our equipment is cleaned regularly and just right," Chet defended the honor of firemen everywhere even though he knew Frank wasn't putting firemen down. The person who had talked to him had, in Chet's mind. "We have to make sure all the fire hose is loaded just right so that it comes off of the truck in a hurry when we need it."

"I n…n…know h…how to d…do th…that." Frank spoke excitedly as he proceeded to tell Chet all about how to turn the hose at the connections so that the connections were always pointing to the back of the engine so they didn't get stuck when you were at a fire. Chet really enjoyed listening to Frank's description of this mundane part of his work. Even with his stutter it was fun to see him so excited about something. As he listened Chet started to get some ideas but he didn't know how to act on those ideas. A quick glance at Julie and Chet realized that if he could find a job somewhere in the department for Frank then Julie would hang around to keep an eye on him.

Those thoughts kept churning through Chet's mind all night and throughout the next day. He couldn't wait to get back to work and check out a few things.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After a restful day at home Chet happily reported for duty. He was already dressed in his uniform and had five freshly cleaned uniforms slung over his shoulder and his duffel bag in his other hand. After entering the station he went straight to the Captain's office before going to the locker room. As he waited for permission to enter the office Chet noticed the squad was out on a run and listened to the morning greetings of his fellow shift mates and smiled contentedly.

As soon as Captain Stanley and Mike finished receiving reports from the previous Captain and Engineer the office was vacated except for Captain Stanley and Chet was beckoned in and directed to a chair.

"Chester B. Kelly reporting for duty," the smile that came with the report was nearly intoxicating as Chet set his duffel bag at his feet before pulling out his release paper signed by Dr. Brackett.

Captain and lineman talked a moment of what had happened and what had been done to make sure headquarters understood the situation last shift. Chet revealed that he had spoken to a lawyer and charges had been pressed if for no other reason than to get justice for the nurse who had been fired as a scapegoat for the incident. Chet had no idea what would happen next or when. He'd been told by the lawyer that he'd keep him informed.

"Will you let everyone know roll call in three minutes?" Cap requested when Chet was released from the office. Chet had just called out the three minute warning to everyone in the day room as he walked by and then to Johnny and Roy as they passed each other as he walked across the bay on his way to the locker room to place his uniforms and duffel bag in his locker.

The two paramedics held up in the bay as they heard the bay doors opening and watched as the squad back into its parking spot.

"Hey, Gage!" McGuire called out at the same time he was climbing out of the squad. There's a new hot nurse at Rampart. At least ten other medics and myself are entering in a pool to see who can be the first to get a date with said nurse."

John groaned. "Don't you remember how badly things turned out the last time you did that?"

"Yeah, but wait 'til you see Julie," Dwyer called out from the other side of the squad. "She's something else, a real doll to look at and the spunk and fire of Dixie all rolled up in one."

"Did you say Julie, as is Julie Clark?" Johnny questioned.

"Don't think I'm going to fall for that one Gage. Ain't no way she's agreed to go out with you already. You haven't even met her yet 'cuz she's only been at Rampart for two days."

"We know her," Johnny responded with a smirk. "Her father is close friends with our Captain."

"She's the one who helped us out and saw to it that we got back home after we were in that car accident while we were on vacation a few months back." Roy put some light on the subject. He was pretty sure from what little he knew about the young woman that having every single male paramedic competing for her attention was the last thing Julie would want.

"Besides she's not unattached," Johnny added with a smile and a nod toward Chet who was headed back from the locker room hoping to get a donut before roll call. "Hey, Chet, did you know Julie is working at Rampart now?"

"Yeah, she started there two days ago after that thing with…" Chet didn't say any more but he pointed to his throat.

The two outgoing paramedics started laughing. "Kelly?"

"From what I hear Chester B here is spending all of his spare time wrestling with retards."

"And loosing." The two off-going paramedics continued to laugh hysterically as Roy, John, and Chet took on serious and disgusted looks.

"Well," Chet took in and let out a deep breath, "I guess I won't get any competition from the likes of these guys." With that he turned and walked into the kitchen in silence.

"I have to agree with Chet," Johnny added before he walked off.

"Same here." Roy then joined his partner leaving the other two paramedics to finally realize they were the only ones laughing.

Hank heard the conversation in the bay and was just taking a deep breath before stepping in to reprimand the two laughing paramedics, but when all was said and done by three of his own crew he felt as if he couldn't say anything better or more effective.

The first run of the morning was a car accident and while Chet was helping to move a frightened three year old from one of the cars the kid bit him. Nothing really serious but it was decided by all concerned that it should be looked at by a doctor just to make sure no further treatment was needed.

He rode in the squad with Roy and as they drove the conversation was on how frustrated they thought Julie must be at all the attention the single paramedics were sending her way.

When they arrived at the hospital they found three paramedics getting in Julie's way as she tried to move a cart full of supplies to restock one of the treatment rooms. Johnny was talking with Dixie and whatever was said it was enough to get her to interfere and Julie was assigned to assist Dr. Morton in looking over Chet's bite.

There was one tiny section where the skin was broken so Julie handed Dr. Morton the antibiotic salve and the band-aid he applied over the top of it. The whole treatment took five minutes and that included the two minutes it took Chet to inform Julie about the barbeque and get Julie's permission for him to announce publicly that he was taking her.

"I'll pick you up at ten tomorrow morning," Chet called out for the benefit of the other Wana'bes as he left the treatment room and met up with his smiling crewmates just in time to hear the tones go off on the handy talkie calling them to a structure fire.

Dixie was happy to inform the stunned intended suitors that she had just learned that Julie and Chet were a preexisting relationship.

The structure fire didn't turn out to be much of a structure; it was a ten by twelve foot shed in the middle of a dirt field. The reason it was in the middle of a dirt field was that it was packed full of flammable liquids and there were multiple explosions before they got the fire out. There was also nothing left but the ashes of the structure and the contents when they were finished and the dirt field was now a mud field with a lot of that mud on the sides of the fire engine and coating the fire hose that was strewn about.

While they cleaned up they overheard the foreman fire a guy for setting the fire off with his cigarette. About all they could do in response was to shake their heads.

They had just reloaded the hose when they were called to assist with another structure fire. This one turned out to be just across the street from the training center where Frank was staying.

They were the fourth engine in, on a fully involved three story apartment building, and Hank was quick to notice one familiar mentally handicapped man helping the paramedics place blankets around the shoulders of some of the victims that had been gathered at the triage station.

Chief McConnike had already directed Station 51 to cover the south face of the building. Their main assignment was to keep the area cooled down and prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring structures. While they were about their responsibilities Hank noticed Frank's efforts in keeping his fellow residents back away from the fire equipment and how he helped move evacuees onto a transport bus that would take them to a place where the Red Cross would see to it that they were kept warm, dry and meet their other needs of food and at least short term shelter.

The Chief walked over to Engine 51 personally to tell them to shut down and start pulling the hose in. He shared the news that an illegal drug lab set up in one of the apartments had been the cause of the fire. His tone was one of disgust as he talked of the handicapped people that had been used as a shield to hide their activities and were now displaced. He then ran his finger through what was now several layers of full out grime on the side of the engine before giving one of the hoses on the ground a good kick and still not seeing the hose for all the mud and grime that was stuck to it.

McConnike was guilty of enjoying the fact that he could intimidate Captain Henry Stanley. He delighted in watching him squirm in his presence and there were a few captains under his charge that this sight would have brought an immediate reprimand or even a one shift suspension but he also knew and respected this captain and his crew enough to know that the state of this fire engine and equipment was not due to neglect.

"Looks like she's seen some hard action this morning." He gestured toward the engine. Every firefighter knew it was the engine that was the Lady of the Station.

"Yes sir," Hank answered still intimidated but relieved that he wasn't already suspended for a week without pay. "We were just pulling in the hose from what turned out to be a real muddy mess when we got the call to join in here."

McConnike nodded his head in understanding remembering that Engine 51 had been the fourth unit in and remembering at least a couple of lengths of hose had looked like it had just been tossed in the bed of the truck when they arrived. They could have lost more than just the one building though if 51 hadn't arrived when they did.

"Do you think two hours of down time is going to be enough to get her back in shape?"

Hank felt guilty because his immediate thoughts were on his empty stomach and the lunch that was two hours late already not to mention he and this crew were just as dirty and grimy as the engine. But part of the reason they had been pulled into this fire before they had cleaned up after the last one is that they barely had enough fire stations in service to cover the valley as it was. Because fires like the last two didn't happen on a daily basis and even more rarely happened back to back, it wasn't likely that more stations would be built soon and all the more reason to get back in service as soon as possible.

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Hank barked out while his men pulled in the hose and wondered how much effort they wanted to put into properly loading the hose when they were just going to pull it all off again so they could put on clean hose once they cleaned up the engine once they reached the station. Mike was the first one to speak up once the Chief was out of hearing range. "It's going to be mighty hard to get her ship shape in just two hours."

"Cap," Chet stepped up with a hesitant look on his face. "I might be able to get us some help."

Hank gave his lineman a questioning stare and his gaze was directed to the man with a stutter who was explaining to a dozen others why they needed to stay back away from the fire engine and let the firemen do their work. He didn't feel comfortable having a mentally handicapped man helping with clean up but if all he did was wash the engine, which Hank was sure he could handle, then that would free someone up to get some lunch ready.

"Do you think they'd allow that?" Hank gestured toward the training center. "We'd have to have someone to handle him if we were to get a call while he's at the station."

"Give me a minute and I'll find out." Chet's feet were in motion before he finished his response to his captain and since he had spent so much time at the training center Chet knew quickly who to talk to about inviting Frank to the station.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chet was back before the rest of the crew had loaded a length of hose to report to his captain that the center needed to find something for Frank to do to get him out of the center for a while because Mark, the man who had tried to take Chet away from Frank, strangling him in the process, was on the war path again and they wanted to separate the two. Jake, one of the workers at the center would requisition a van and have Frank at the station as soon as they got everyone else out of the street and back into the center.

As it turned out the van from the training center followed them back to the station and Chet was able to signal to them from his seat on the engine that they should pull into the back.

The engine was only backed in as far as the front apron to avoid making a huge mess in the bay and Chet hurried to greet his friend before standing back and allowing him to present himself to the Captain.

" F…F…F…Fire t…t…truck w…w…washer F…Frank D…D…Dillon r…r…reporting for duty."

There was a resemblance of a salute involved and if Hank stretched his imagination a little he could see that the man was at least trying to stand at attention, although he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with such nervous excitement that it was hard to tell.

"Thank you for your assistance and welcome to 51's." Hank extended a hand that was taken by both of Frank's hands and shaken 'til his arm nearly came loose at the shoulder. "I'll put you under the direction of Fireman Kelly here and let you get to work."

Chet pointed the way to the back of the engine and Hank watched as Frank stepped up on the tail board with the same ease Kelly did and with only a few seconds of instruction was able to work his arm through the loops of the hose in the bed and pull a huge section of dirty hose off onto the floor. By the time Hank had assigned Lopez to get something going for them all to eat and offered a welcoming handshake to the man called Jake, the hose bed was emptied awaiting Mike, John and Roy to pull the clean and dried hose from the hose rack in preparation of reloading the hose bed once it had been cleaned out.

Both Chet and Frank grabbed a bucket and filled it with water and soap and while Chet took on the hose bed to get the muck cleaned out from there. Frank went straight for the front of the engine and started to wash across the face with a soapy sponge. Hank watched the young man, somewhat nervous that he was out of sight of Chet Kelly. When he rapidly soaped up the whole front of the engine Hank feared he wouldn't really clean it just go through the rabid motions. However once Frank had the front of the engine soaped up he then moved to one section near the top and began to work in earnest to get every speck of dirt off. This man, even though mentally handicapped, had learned that if you apply soapy water and give it a minute to soften up the dirt that things came clean easier and quicker. Hank sighed in relief and moved into his office to catch up on the log books and reports. Jake, seeing that Frank was being supervised as well as he needed to be by Fireman Kelly, found his way into the kitchen and offered to help Marco prepare a meal.

To Hank's pleasant surprise by the time he had filled out reports on the last two fires and updated the report on their first run with Kelly's medical report on his bite, the engine was backed into the bay and looking ready for a parade as the men were gathering together to get clean hoses loaded into the bed.

To his uncertain surprise he saw Kelly and their guest Frank climbing into the hose bed to receive the hose. As he stood and watched Hank noticed the uncertain look on his engineer's face and that Kelly wasn't giving a lot of instruction. The two men were just pulling in the hose as fast as it was being fed to them. Of course Hank had to make his way to the tail board where he could climb up and inspect the work being done.

To his surprise everything was being done just as it should be with Kelly just a little faster than Frank but not as much as Hank would have expected. Every coil, every connection was lain as it needed to be to assure the smoothest and most rapid deployment at a fire just as if this man Frank had done it a hundred times before. When he finally turned his attention from Frank's work to Kelly he was met with eye contact and a huge smile. The bed of hose was half laid when Hank's attention was drawn to the sound of an opening door. When he looked up he saw Chief McConnike coming in, no doubt to inspect their progress.

Hank carefully looked at his watch trying not to let his actions be noticed by the chief. They were well under their two hour time frame, still plenty of time to finish the engine prep and get each of his men through the shower and fed before they would have to go back in service. With one look at the Chief as he eyed the engine over Hank could tell he was impressed with their progress.

"She's looking real good there, Hank. I have to admit that after I checked into the fire you were on before you joined us at the apartment fire I was thinking I'd been a little harsh in only giving you two hours. You've done me proud as usual."

The Chief's eyes shifted to the guest in the hose bed as he stepped up to inspect his work. He too showed a certain amount of surprise in his eyes as he watched Frank tucked in the last length of hose perfectly.

"Are you going to introduce your guest to me?"

Apprehensively Hank called out, "Frank, would you please come down here."

Hank watched as Frank used the academy taught safe method of climbing down from the hose bed as Chet used a more not so recommended but commonly used jump over the hand rail onto the tail board then onto the floor.

As the two men stood before him Hank took just a moment to notice the protective nature Chet had in moving next to his friend and the absence of the bounce in said friend from when he first arrived. 'We must have tired him out a little,' Hank thought to himself before proceeding.

"Chief McConnike, I'd like to introduce you to our guest, Frank Dillon. Frank this is our Battalion Chief McConnike."

" P…P…P…Pleased t…to m…m…m…meet y…y…you, s…s...sir," Frank responded and respectably extended his hand to shake the Chief's as Hank set his back teeth tightly in anticipation of the acceptance his Chief would show to this special man.

"Frank Dillon, you say?" The Chief continued to hold Frank's hand. "Are you by any chance the same Frank Dillon who helped evacuate the apartment building that caught fire this afternoon?"

" N…n…no, I…I…I, j…j...just h…h…helped everyone g…g…get ou…ou…out of the b…b…burning b…b…building."

Hank knew if Chief McConnike didn't already know the special nature of their guest he must surely know now. Then Hank realized what the Chief had said and turned to his guest with surprised pride.

"And carried Molina Agiler from her burning apartment and then returned to get her portable oxygen tank before the fire department arrived?"

"N…n…no, I…I…I c…c…carried Mollie ou…ou…out. H…H…er a…a…apartment wasn't b…b…burning a…at f…f…first j…j…just s…s…smoky. I…I…I r…r…remembered t…t…to s…s…stay d…d…down n…n…n…next to th…th…the f…f…f…floor. I…I…I d…d…didn't g…g…go b…b…back f…f…for ox…oxygen. I…I u…u…used t…t…t…the e…e…emergency t…t…tank b…by the d…d…door."

Hank stood amazed at what he was hearing and noticed the look of wonder on his Chief's face as he stood there nodding his head and listening patiently to what the man before him was telling him. Hank also realized that the Chief knew the special nature of said man before he arrived at the station and that he had come as much to find and talk to Frank as he had to check on the progress of their clean up.

"I've heard lots of stories from the people you helped get out of the building. It would seem to me that you are a real live hero there, young man." Chief McConnike proceeded to praise the young man. "I've just filled out the paperwork for you to get an award that will tell anyone who looks at it just how much of a hero you are."

"NO!" Frank cried as he hid his head with his arms. "No, no, no, D…D…Dad w…w…will be m…m…mad."

"It's okay, Frank." Chet stepped up to try and calm his friend. Carefully he placed a hand on Franks back as he talked. "Its okay, your dad's not going to get mad at you, he'll be really proud of you."

Frank went down to his knees and Chet with him as Hank motioned to Roy with the shake of his head to get Jake from the kitchen but Jake had heard Frank call out and was on his way to see what happened. His first thought when he saw Frank on his knees with his arms over his head was that he had gotten injured and he was quickly at his side, opposite of Chet, trying to understand the crisis.

"No, no, d…d…d…dummy's d…d…d…don't d…d…de…deserve a…a…a…awards."

Jake understood. "Is this about him turning in the apartment fire earlier today?"

"That and helping to evacuate the building as well as carrying out one of the residents." Chief McConnike didn't understand the trauma he had caused. "I just told him he was being submitted for an award and he got all upset."

Jake nodded his head and then pulled Frank tighter against himself as he started to rub his back. "It's okay. Frank. This is a special award that they give to everybody who is brave and saves other people. We'll just treat it like all of your other awards and put it in your file in case it will help you later on, okay. Your father will never have to see it."

Everyone looked on in confusion, even Chet, Roy and Johnny. they had been aware that Frank and his father had issues, that was why Julie had been given custodianship over him, but none of them could understand being afraid of receiving awards.

Under Jake's understanding Frank calmed down quickly as Jake changed the subject to how wet his clothes were and perhaps he should change into the dry clothes they brought with him.

"Well, if he brought clean clothes then he should get a shower just like the rest of us," Chet spoke up while giving his captain a look that seemed to be asking permission.

"Lunch is ready," Marco announced. "You better hurry up and get showered or it'll burn to the bottom of the pan." Somehow there was an implication that Frank, Jake and of course Chief McConnike were to be fed as well as the six crew members of Station 51.

"Come on, Frank, let's hurry up." Chet motioned to his friend, "It's my turn to do the dishes tonight and I don't want to have to scrub the pot if food has been burned to the bottom."

That seemed to be all that Frank needed to overcome his fear as Jake offered him the keys to the van so that he could go get his change of clothes.

Once Frank was out of hearing range Chief McConnike touched Jake's shoulder to get his attention. "Is it going to be a bad idea to turn him in for this award?"

Jake took a deep breath and thought his words through carefully. "He won't enjoy receiving it, but it will be good for him and the award can help him a lot when it comes to getting placed in a housing program for people like him in the future. Due to patient confidentiality regulations I can't explain the why of any of this."

"I guess I can understand that." The Chief withdrew all of the questions he wanted to ask.

"Our director should be informed about where and when you want to present this award as soon as possible so that we can prepare him to receive it."

As they all showered everyone noticed the healed over welts on Frank's back and they all guessed that they had something to do with Franks earlier reaction.

They all enjoyed Marco's dump stew and the huge batch of baking powder biscuits that Jake had whipped up from scratch. Afterwards Frank and Jake helped Chet with the dishes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As was arranged, Chet picked Julie up at her apartment before going to the training center to get Frank. Julie had convinced Frank to make his addition to the afternoon's barbeque ahead of time and taking it with him instead of planning to cook it there. This would be Frank's introduction to a pot luck dinner. Julie and Chet had each made something to bring too.

The barbeque was fun for everyone. Roy and JoAnne had taken time to sit with their children before hand and explain about Frank. They were nervous at first but after hearing him call their mother 'Mrs. Roy,' they laughed quietly. It wasn't long before they thought of him as just an older kid like themselves and Frank played right along with them while Chet and Julie watched.

After some hamburgers and salads, and Frank's macaroni and Cheese, they all went bowling and Frank was quick to teach Chris and Jenny a few things about the sport.

Frank was returned to the training center in time for his dinner leaving Chet and Julie the rest of the evening to themselves.

After dinner at a nice little open air restaurant that Chet liked, the two were enjoying a walk in the park while the sounds of the amusement park close by entertained them.

Julie started small talk. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the hustle and bustle of city life. Although there is something to be said about not needing three refrigerators and two deep freezers so that you only need to go grocery shopping once a month."

"I don't know if I could handle that, I need to be able to get fresh milk at least twice a week," Chet responded.

"Fresh milk doesn't come from a store," Julie chided Chet and once he understood what she was talking about they both laughed.

"Does that mean you're not going to stay here after you finish your schooling?" Chet dared to press forward after a moment of silence.

Julie looked at Chet for a moment then took his hand in her's and motioned toward a park bench. "No, no it doesn't. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. There are certainly a lot more opportunities here in the city. More importantly, there are none of the, let's call them socially political issues that are waiting for me back home. Dr. Frick has become an educator now. It's something Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early talked to him about. He'll have a steady stream of interns up to two at a time spending anywhere from six months to a year working with him as he teaches them the fine art of rural family medicine. That will really change the way medical needs are met throughout the county. I'm not sure I ever really wanted to go back and work there anyway."

Chet just sat and listened, not sure if he dared hope or what he was willing to do to win her heart.

"I'll have to go home for a while though once I'm finished here. My custodianship of Frank will have to be reviewed by the courts as soon as he finishes this training program. He could actually go home almost a month before I'm done but that will mean his father will have to come get him and I don't think he'll put out the travel money to do so."

"What are the chances of you getting Frank permanently?" Chet was hopeful and fearful at the same time.

"Slim to none," Julie answered with a melancholy tone. "There are a couple of social workers, my father, his father and heaven knows who else back home that are already trying to remove him from my custody. They're right about some things, though. Frank would be happier in the small community he grew up in. I'd hoped that he could be trained to live on his own without the need for anyone to have custodianship over him but that's not going to be. The kid can't understand finances enough to maintain an apartment or a grocery budget. He can only read on a low first grade level and that's only if he keeps working at it. Once he's gone for as little as a week without supervised reading time he loses what he's learned. I've often wondered if he's not just memorizing the stories they've been trying to get him to read."

"There's a larger community about two hours to the south of my home town where they have a small training center like the one he's in now but there's a waiting list, a long waiting list, and they almost entirely work with Down's syndrome patients. My dad has offered him a permanent residence in the bunk house and work on the ranch. He'd be able to work with Wally on the smaller brush fires during the summer but the courts aren't exactly in favor of that. They don't want him to get hurt or anything." Julie sneered with those words.

"If I were to guess what the courts will do, he'll end up right back with his father. They've made him get some counseling and take some classes to help him understand Frank's needs. There's been talk of him fixing up a studio apartment over the garage for Frank and letting Frank work in the geriatric ward of the hospital there. They plan to have him helping get the long term care patients to the cafeteria for their lunch every day while the staff there watches him for signs of further abuse. I don't think it's his best option but it is better than that way things were before."

Chet understood more than he wanted to. He had heard John and Roy talk about their repeat calls to the same homes for the same children only to have the children returned or never even removed from the homes were they were being battered.

"At least now he knows how to fix himself a meal so he won't go hungry like he used to. The home health people in the area will take him shopping once a week and make sure he has healthy foods that he knows how to fix on hand and he'll get at least one meal a day at the hospital while he's there."

An awkward silence lingered again 'til Chet finally asked, "How long will you have to go back for?"

"I don't know yet. Could be as long as a month but I think if I tell them I have a possibility of a job here they'll work out the court dates a little faster."

Silence once again lingered as Julie cautiously snuggled closer to Chet. Slowly and timidly the two heads came closer together and eventually they kissed.

When they were done Julie leaned back just enough to look into Chet's eyes. "That's the first time I've ever kissed anyone with a mustache."

"Do I need to shave it off?"

"NO," was all Julie said driving Chet nearly insane as she managed to lay her head on Chet's shoulder in thought.

Chet managed to get his arm around her shoulders and liked what he was feeling.

"I guess I should be checking to see what employment options are available at Rampart."

Chet couldn't sleep after he took Julie back to her apartment. All night long he thought of Julie and how unfair it was for him to ask her to give up the life style she had grown up in. Thoughts of transferring to a slightly more rural area in the county started to cross his mind and he vowed to check out the openings listed on the board once he was back on shift. Then his thoughts turned to Frank.

The things Julie told him did seem better than life had been before, with Frank being in a hospital working every day should keep his father from hurting him. He himself had heard Frank talk about how he missed his father and had been at the training center a couple of times when he called home to talk to him. Chet had even spent one day trying to help the center's staff members teach Frank how to use the bus system but Frank just didn't catch on. All he could do was talk about how back home he could walk everywhere he wanted to go or even ride his bike if the tire wasn't flat.

Julie worked the next day so Chet had even more time to think, then on Monday morning he was back at the station early. The crew before him had an early morning auto accident so the station was empty when he arrived. He quickly dressed and then headed straight for the bulletin board. There were no openings that fit with his thoughts but he still had a couple of months and new listings came out nearly every week. Then he noticed another flyer, one he had known was there but hadn't had any interest in it before now.

The trucks returned to the station and most of the crew headed for the locker room to get into their day uniforms. Their last call had come in just before wake up tones so they were all still wearing their turn out gear. Chet didn't even notice when Johnny hurried in to get some coffee started. He had been called in at three that morning after Carlton had fallen through a roof at a house fire. Fortunately he had only sprained his ankle but it was a bad sprain and he was expected to be out for at least three weeks.

John noticed the mustached coworker standing next to the bulletin board when he came in and offered a greeting on his way to the stove. When Chet didn't respond he said "Hi" again. When Chet still didn't respond he decided to go see what had his friend so consumed.

John took a good look at the notice that Chet was examining, the semi-annual tryouts for those who wanted to enter the fire fighting academy. It was put on the board in case anyone knew someone who wanted to be a fireman and John couldn't think of anyone Chet knew that fit that bill until-

"You've got to be kidding; you know Frank doesn't stand a chance of getting into the academy?"

"I know that, but just think about it," Chet defended. "He'd have the time of his life. Maybe he'll get someone's attention and they'll find someplace they can use him in the department. Not everything to do with firefighting is rocket science you know."

John thought hard for a moment and studied Chet's face. "You're right about him having the time of his life but won't it be cruel when they tell him he can't cut it."

"Remember when we went before we started the academy? I don't know about you but when I went they sent over half of those that showed up packing."

John was now nodding his head, he remembered well the over aged and overweight and just plain out of shape guys that showed up to try their hand at wrestling a hose and climbing the ladder on the ladder truck. Not to mention the ones that were afraid of heights. The day he was there the instructors had to go up and help no less than ten men back down, one guy had to be carried down the ladder in a fireman's carry because he flat out froze. No, Frank wouldn't be alone on the list of those sent home without an invitation to the academy.

"Besides, if we just tell him he's getting a chance to play on and with the equipment and don't tell him that everyone else there is trying out for the fire academy…"

"I don't know. What if he can't handle it, it's all simulations but he could get hurt, you know." Johnny clearly wasn't as enthusiastic about the idea as Chet was.

"I'll be right there with him, I know how to back up my partner, I'll be sure he doesn't get hurt."

"Famous last words, Chet, famous last words."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chet spent the next week working out the details of his big plan. Julie agreed that Frank would have the time of his life and was happy that Chet was going to entertain Frank since she had to go home for the weekend to attend her brother's wedding. She didn't want to take Frank home with her because she feared she wouldn't be allowed to bring him back and he still had some training to complete. Also, Frank never enjoyed her family gatherings as there were just too many people with the same names and he was easily confused. Sadly, several of those people, mostly family friends and extended family members, delighted in tormenting Frank by teasing him when no one was watching.

Whenever Frank was at the ranch he would help out with all the work that needed to be done but if there was any kind of a party or gathering, Frank preferred to hide out in the bunk house. Always in a lower bunk where he felt more protected.

John spent the week trying to talk Chet out of his plans and that's how Roy found out about what was going on. He, too, tried to talk Chet out of putting Frank in a possibly humiliating situation. They were all very careful not to let Cap overhear them.

No one knew for sure if what Chet was planning to do was against any rules or not but the only thing they agreed on was that it was easier to get forgiveness than permission.

During the break between shifts Chet talked to Frank about the firefighters tryouts and Frank was so excited that he could hardly talk.

Chet had learned more from the Lawyer he talked to concerning his case with Mark's older brother, the doctor who wrongfully discharged him from the intensive care unit and released him for duty, than anyone at the center. While talking about the case he was told that Mark's Dad had a heart attack making it impossible for him and his wife, whose eye sight has deteriorated 'til she can't drive any longer, to take care of Mark at home by herself. That was why they had to place him in the training center in hopes that they could prepare him for placement in an institution where others like himself worked together to maintain a home-like environment as opposed to an institution where there are too many residents and not enough workers. This often meant that he would most likely be drugged and kept in his room for long stretches. Even though Mark had nearly killed him, Chet believed his actions were not intended to do him harm. Chet could relate to the desire to give the man the best life he could earn and had talked to Julie about what he could do to help when he was in the center visiting with Frank.

Because of that talk, before Chet left the training center that night he sat down on a chair behind the sofa Mark was sitting on and read him a quick bed time story.

On the last shift Chet worked before the big open house firefighter's tryouts John again tried to talk Chet out of taking Frank. It was when Roy joined in and Marco overheard and joined into the conversation that Chet reveled his true intentions.

"If I can just get Frank a subsidized type of job here in the area then he won't have to go back and live with his father, the same father who is responsible for all of the scars across his back. Julie doesn't really want to go back there either, I mean with all the rumors going around and all the women mad at her because of what that one jerk did."

"Yeah, I've got to admit I'd like to see her get a job and settle down someplace away from her home where she'll be appreciated," Roy added. He held Julie in a special place not only because of the care she gave him when she was newly burned and needing time to recover herself. He also felt a little protective of her because of the expectations hinted at simply because of his name.

"I've been kind of hoping that you would be the one to give her a reason to stay." Roy added a hint as he placed a hand on Chet's shoulder. Both men blushed slightly.

"Workin' on it," Chet whispered, more to himself than anyone else but all those around him heard whether he wanted them to or not.

-0-

At Rampart Julie was still dodging paramedics who hadn't heard or didn't believe the news that she was in a relationship. Dixie noticed not only the interference the boys in blue caused her new student nurse; she also noticed the frustration Julie felt with all the attention she was getting. Unlike most of the student nurses Dixie hadn't had a chance to get to know this one before she came on board. Kell had pulled her aside sometime during the second shift Julie had worked, and explained about her being the one to bring some questionable treatment from one of the doctors at Harbor to the attention of people who could take care of things and as a result had a target on her back over there.

Even thought she didn't know much about the young lady, Dixie was pleased with what she was seeing. The girl was older than most of her student nurses, self assured and confident but not cocky. Even as annoyed as she clearly was with the paramedics trying to win a date with her she was pleasant with them.

The girl had the ability to wrestle down a drunk and could easily calm a frightened child, yet when the nurses gathered for their breaks or before their lectures Julie was often by herself. She was never seen joining in on the gossip sessions. She either just sat alone or kept her head in a book.

Dixie looked at the clock and noticed that it was time for her lunch break and decided to rescue Julie in the process.

"Don't you boys have work to do?" Dixie stepped between the pesky fire boys and her student nurse.

"Yes, Miss McCall," was heard and cringing men in uniform quickly disappeared.

"Ann, will you take over getting treatment room three ready; Julie is going to lunch with me."

As soon as they were in the hall outside the emergency department on their way to the cafeteria Julie started to talk. "I'm sorry, Miss McCall, I'm really not trying to encourage them. I…"

Dixie held up her hand to stop Julie from saying more. "You are no different than any other attractive nurse I've ever had in my department. I'm guilty of promoting it from time to time and possibly guilty of some of the attention you're getting now. When you first started working for me I didn't know if you were in a relationship or not so when the guys asked me that's what I told them. Hopefully the word will make it through the grapevine that you are in a relationship and things will quiet down by the beginning of next week."

"Did you have this kind of problem while you were at Harbor General?" Dixie asked as they stepped into the line at the food counter.

"No, not this bad, but then I was in other areas of the hospital there where paramedics seldom go and can't get into without scrubbing and gowning."

"So is Emergency your last rotation?"

"Yeah." Julie started to eye over what was being offered to eat. What Dixie didn't know was that in her locker was a can of soup that she planned to eat for lunch, warm if she could find a place to get it warm, cold if she couldn't.

Food was purchased and Dixie noticed Julie counting the money in her pocket before choosing her food. In response to what she'd seen Dixie picked up a second piece of pie and added it to her tray but once the two of them reached the table where they were to share their lunch break the second piece of pie was slipped over to Julie's tray.

"I usually meet with my student nurses one on one before they start in Emergency, just to get to know them a little; I understand you and one of the doctors over at Harbor didn't see things eye to eye."

Julie then knew she was in Dixie's sights and not feeling any guilt for what she had done it was time to find out if her actions were going to cause problems for her at Rampart. One thing for sure news of her perceived crime was going to make its way to Rampart sooner or later and who knew what form or level of exaggeration they would arrive in.

"The biggest problem started when Dr. Crammer's brother was placed in the same center for education of the mentally handicapped as the young man I have custodianship over. Until just a couple of weeks ago his brother has lived a sheltered life in the care of his parents who catered to his every need but have now grown too old and of frail health to care for him any longer. Mark is about the same age as Frank, my ward, and didn't, well, still doesn't understand following the rules of the center and why he can't leave the center like Frank does, nor does Mark like that Frank get's lots of visitors. Me and my friend Chet are there three to four times a week and one of us takes him out, usually bowling, every weekend, then he has special instructors come in throughout the week to work with him and help him learn the skills he's going to need when I have to take him back home to his father.

"Mark is still working on the preliminary testing to determine his current level and how he learns best before he will be assigned the instructors he needs and he doesn't get any visitors in the way of family. That's where Dr. Crammer and I clashed the most. I guess someone at the center talked to him about the conflict with Frank and Dr. Crammer responded by coming to me and requesting that I stop visiting Frank so much so that his brother could settle in better."

"You must be the one that called Dr. Crammer's actions to his higher ups when he prematurely discharged Mr. Kelly from ICU." Dixie was starting to put two and two together.

"Not exactly, Chet's sister called me to see if by any chance Chet was at my place. I hurried to the hospital to help them search for him. There were no records of him being discharged in his chart so at first we thought he must have just wandered off somewhere else in the hospital. When we couldn't find him we remembered that he was supposed to go on duty and thought to call the fire station to see if anyone there might know where he was. That's when Henry, Chet's captain told me he was there and that he had a release from the hospital in his hands declaring him fit for duty. I asked who signed it and that's when I figured out what had happened. I went to Dr. Milner, the doctor who treated Chet when he was brought to the hospital and asked him to call the doctor here and bring him up to date on what had been done for him. It was Dr. Milner who went to the administrator demanding disciplinary actions on Dr. Crammer for discharging his patient. I'm the one who told Henry not to let that piece of paper out of his hands. I'm sure if that gets out someone's going to want a piece of my hide."

Any ounce of worry Dixie had before this lunch was now gone. "Well they'll have to get by me to do it. I admire a nurse who puts the patients first."

Dixie then directed the conversation to where Julie was from and what her training had involved so far and then to what she planned to do with her training when she actually had her nursing license. That was the first time Dixie put Julie together with the EMT that had brought Roy back from his vacation in the sleeper section of an eighteen wheeler after he started exhibiting complications to a head injury he received. The two nurses were still laughing at the memory of a semi hauling hogs bringing patients into the hospital and all the things the driver said to Dr. Morton while the patients were being unloaded.

Later that afternoon Dixie filled Dr. Morton in on her discovery and he remembered the burns he had redressed and how in awe he was that she had given such care in her condition.

Both Dixie and Dr. Morton watched as a familiar semi made a quick stop just after Julie was off shift and Julie climbed up into the cab before it started up again.

"They only have a private air strip and no bus station in her home town," Dixie enlightened Dr. Morton. "This is the closest thing they have to public transportation to get her home for her brother's wedding."

-0-

Chet showed up at the training center the next morning to pick up Frank, he found him busily finishing his chores and was told that he had traded for chores that he could have done before he needed to go to his big adventure.

While Chet waited with a smile for Frank to dump his mop water he saw Mark coming for him out of the corner of his eye.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Seeing the speed in which Mark was moving, clearly in his direction, Chet ran and jumped over the sofa in the main common room. While Mark looked confused one of the other residents, a young girl, started scolding Chet for jumping on the furniture. Mark soon started to run around the sofa but Chet kept moving too, he moved in any direction he needed to, to keep the sofa between him and Mark. After a couple of laps around the sofa Chet noticed that three of the supervisors had been alerted to the situation and were watching from a short distance to see if their intervention was needed. It was a smile on Chet's face and him holding up a hand in their direction that kept them at a distance then Chet started to talk to Mark.

"You hurt me; you have to stay over there." Chet was using his very best imitated ten year old voice.

Mark curled his lip in a pout, "I didn't mean to." He stomped his foot on the floor and threw his slightly clenched hands around. "It was just a mistake. I wanted my turn to have friends."

"I'm the only one who gets to choose who my friends are. My friends don't hurt me." Chet continued with his ten year old voice.

Mark was nearly to the point of breaking down into tears as he stomped on the floor once again. That's when the staff member who was assigned to Mark stepped forward. There was no surprise in Chet's mind that he was the biggest and most muscle bound staff member they had. The man named Gus stepped up to Mark and bent he head so that he was looking eye to eye with Mark.

"He's right you know, friends don't hurt their friends. Not even by mistake."

"What are friends supposed to do?" Mark asked in total sincerity and Gus was scrambling for an answer that Mark could understand.

"Well, to start with they tell each other their names," Gus suggested.

"I'm Mark!" Mark called out over the sofa maybe a lot louder than he really needed to.

"I'm Chet," Chet responded in a more appropriate volume and tone.

"Then," Gus started to instruct again, "you share things with each other about yourself, show them things you like to do and when you find something you both like to do then you can do it together."

"I can show him things?" Mark questioned, again is surprising sincerity. "What can I show him? Wait, I'll find something, you make him stay here. I'll be back."

"Well now, Mr. Chet isn't a prisoner here, it would be wrong for me to make him stay. The way a friend would do things is to ask him to stay and wait for you, and a real friend would remember to say please."

Mark looked at Gus like he had two heads for a minute. "How do I ask him?" Again his question was in total sincerity.

"Okay I'll help you this once." Gus motioned for Mark to stand next to him and then whispered in his ear the things he should say.

"Mr. Chet, would you please wait here for me to go get something to show you?"

"Mr. Chet, please wait here so I can get something to show you."

"Okay," Chet responded hesitantly as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "But I can only stay for a minute. I have to go somewhere in a little while."

"Thank you," Gus whispered in Mark's ear but Mark was in too big of a hurry to get to his room. As he headed toward his room he kept his eye on Chet.

"Stay right there, I'll come back. Don't go; I'll hurry."

The door to Mark's room was visible to Chet and as he waited he watched Mark nearly toss his room. Watching Mark made him think of what a burglar would do while looking for some hidden valuables.

When Mark returned he was carrying a largish three ring binder and he nearly ran right to Chet's side. Before he got there Chet ran around to the other side of the sofa calling out, "Don't hurt me."

There wasn't anyone in that room that didn't know that Chet was only half way acting. Mark could have killed him on their first encounter if there hadn't been proper intervention.

Giving Chet a smile of approval for his actions Gus was soon at Mark's side again and he encouraged him to open his book and tell Chet about it. From across the sofa Mark opened his book and with some excitement started to turn the pages and show Chet his stamp collection.

Chet showed some interest in his book, not that he was really interested in stamps but because he respected the young man enough to let him share his interest. As the pages were turned Chet noticed several brightly colored stamps many of them from foreign countries, all of them canceled. They were attached to the pages in a less than organized fashion testifying to Chet that Mark and placed each of them in his book. Interspersed among the stamps were several adhesive stickers of decorative design and as Mark talked about them it was clear he didn't know the difference between stamps and stickers. But that was alright.

"That's a really neat collection," Chet praised when Mark had turned the last page, he then looked up and noticed Frank standing near the exit with his duffel bag over his shoulder and waiting patiently for Chet.

"I have to go now but thank you for showing me your stamp collection." Chet started to move away. "It's really neat."

"I, I, got two of these, do you want one," Mark started to tear the paper around a star sticker and handed the torn page toward his new friend.

Chet was sorry he had prompted Mark to tear one of his pages but with the gestured encouragement from Mark's handler Chet extended his hand and took the paper and star sticker from Mark.

"Thank you." Chet genuinely spoke, not because he was that impressed with the sticker, but because he did recognize the sincerity in which it had been offered.

"My Daddy gave that to me." Mark worked for every extra second he could have Chet's attention.

"I'll take good care of it." Chet slipped it in his pocket and then turned to leave, if they didn't leave soon they could end up late and that was something Chet was determined to avoid.

Once Chet got in his van he placed the sticker behind the registration holder that was clipped to his van's sun visor and then watched as Frank stowed his duffel bag in the back and buckled his seatbelt.

On the drive to the training facility Chet talked to Frank about what to expect and gave him advice on how to act.

"I've already filled out your application form for you so all you need to do is hand it over at the desk and then follow me to where we'll wait for our turn to show what you know about the equipment. Do you have any questions?"

There was a silence for a moment but a quick glance out of the corner of his eye Chet could see that Frank was thinking hard. Then he spoke.

"W…why d…did th… the f… firemen p…pull th…the c…ceilings d…down af…after th…the f…fire?"

That wasn't one of the questions Chet was expecting or prepared for but it was no big deal to answer it. "Are you talking about the apartment fire across the street from the training center?"

"Y… yeah."

"That's what we have to do to make sure the fire is all the way out." Chet began to explain, thinking hard with every word he spoke to make his explanation level appropriate for Frank. "There could be just a small smoldering coal or piece of insulation in the ceiling that can smolder there sometimes for days until it burns to a place where there is enough air for it to start a fire again."

The rest of the trip to the firefighter training facility Chet explained the process of a fire and the required combination of heat, fuel, and air. Chet was sure most of what he said was way over Frank's head but Frank listened carefully and nodded his head from time to time hinting that he understood.

Once they pulled into the parking area of the training facility the silence in Chet's car was deafening. The car was parked, and the two men got out, Frank slower than Chet and not before he reached into his duffel bag and pulled out the firefighter baseball cap Chet had given him when he first came to California. Frank stood at the side of the car while Chet locked the doors, then straightened to his tallest height and pulled his baseball cap on his head before silently following Chet with his papers in his hand and a look of resolve on his face.

Even though they were early there was still a line up at the sign in table so Chet stepped aside as Frank took his place in the line.

Chet was watching Frank move forward and realized that as long as he didn't say anything no one would know of his friend's special needs. He was aware of someone stepping up to the side of him but took a moment before he turned to see who was there and just how close.

"Johnny? What are you doing here?"

Johnny turned his gaze to the special young man in the line, "Same as you. I expected you here fifteen minutes ago. I was beginning to think you came to your senses and decided not to bring him."

"Are you kidding, once I told him about it there was no way he'd let me not bring him."

"He actually looks like he's ready for whatever they throw at him." A new voice was heard to Chet's other side. Turning quickly his eyes confirmed what his ears had told him. Roy DeSoto was standing next to him and behind Roy was Marco.

Once Frank was signed in the four firemen from Station 51 gathered around him and helped him place his name tags and entry number appropriately as they moved to where the training officials were still setting up the hose drill staging area.

There was an older fire engine, one retired from active service and appointed to the academy for the purpose of training, parked at the edge of the staging area. It was hooked up to a fire hydrant and two hoses were stretched out and lying limp toward an area where three men were working to hook up a gas line that would supply controlled fuel to the fire the firefighting wana'bes would be demonstrating their abilities on at a later point.

"Alright Frank, it's going to be a few minutes before they're ready to start. When they do start I want you to listen carefully to everything they tell you. Don't talk just listen, if you don't understand come to me and I'll explain it to you 'til you do understand, okay?" Chet offered up the final pep talk.

"O… o… okay." Frank responded before turning all of his attention to the men setting up for the drill.

Chet stood by watching Frank with a smile on his face at how calm his friend was. This was surely going to be the greatest adventure Frank had ever had, at least while he was in California. Chet was almost to declare in his own mind that this was better than taking Frank to Disneyland when someone at his side let out a sickening "Oh no!"

Chet's attention was quickly drawn first to Rogers from station 110 with his younger brother standing at his side looking totally terrified. Chet's attention was next drawn to the group of men walking up behind them and he stomach and his heart both began to fight for a position in his throat.

The group of men walking in their direction was Captain Stanley, Mike Stoker, Chief McConnike and someone else with an official looking uniform identifying him as someone from headquarters.

Chet's first response was to send an accusing look at Johnny.

"I didn't tell him," John defended himself.

"Me neither," Marko added before Roy mimicked him.

Looking back to his captain, Chet thought for sure he was really going to get it when he saw them all stop and look at the gathered firemen. Both Cap and Stoker stood fixed with their arms folded across their chest. It was Chief McConnike that gestured for the men to join them and the four firemen left Frank to continue watching the set up to go find out just how much trouble they were in.

Chet took his place at the front of the pack, this had been his idea and his plan, and he would take the brunt of the punishment whatever it was going to be.

"How did you find out sir?" Chet asked after a moment of tense silence.

"I have my sources," Hank declared elusively. The last thing he wanted his men to know was how the bay sometimes amplified their low volume talk and funneled it right into the office. He didn't want them to figure that out and find a way around it.

There was another moment of stiff silence before Chet turned to look at his friend who was still studiously studying the set up. He then turned back to his superiors. "Are you going to stop him from participating today?"

The man whom they didn't know from headquarters stepped forward. "We're here to tell you that it's not necessary for him to participate today, we've been talking to Chief McConnike and the officials at the training center where Mr. Dillon is currently residing. We are very impressed in Mr. Dillon's demonstrated abilities and aptitudes toward fire fighting. We are therefore prepared to offer him a position here at the academy. He'll be able to offer supervised assistance in maintaining all of the fire equipment we use here and other duties once we're sure what he's capable of."

Pleasantly surprised smiles covered the faces of all of the men gathered before their superiors as Johnny gleefully slapped Chet on the back before giving his shoulders an excited shake.

"But," the official from headquarters regained everyone's attention, "there are a few issues that will have to be dealt with before this offer can be realized. They're complicated issues I'm not prepared to discuss here but most of them are legal issues that have to be determined by the authorities in Mr. Dillon's home state. Still the offer will be presented in writing for whatever influence it will offer in the decisions of those authorities."

The exuberance and excitement was tempered somewhat by the added news most noticeable on Chet's face as he remembered Julie's predictions of what would happen when the courts back home reevaluated her custodianship status.

Chet was preparing to request permission for Frank to participate anyway when they were all stunned by the sound of an explosion in the staging area.

As the trained firemen in the midst tried to investigate they were blocked by a crowd of stunned wana'bes and observers frozen in their tracks three men deep all around the entire perimeter of the staging area. All they could really see was the towering flames that rose over the heads of those they were trying to push themselves past.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Inside the ring of bystanders Frank, along with three other brave souls, sprung into action. The men who had been working on the gas line that had just exploded were covered with the fire blankets that had been sitting on the ground near the engine. It was Frank that grabbed them and threw them over the top of the men to smother their smoldering clothing, others wrapped them tighter around the men to smother any flames and two men were rolled over so that the fire blankets were then underneath them so that they could be drug to safety by pulling the blanket. While the injured men were being cared for Frank ran to the truck and after starting the engine to get the pumps running he pulled the levers necessary to charge the two hoses stretched out on the ground. This was the exact moment Chet, Captain Stanley, Chief McConnike, Mike Stoker and the others shouldered through the crowd in that order. The others were close behind and now that the crowd was starting to part they were bunched up not pushing through single file.

Everyone was surprised to see Frank pulling the levers on the truck and stood stunned for just a millisecond. John and Roy raced to the injured and started to work on them being joined by another Paramedic from the crowd.

Mike stepped up to take over on the pumps pushing Frank out of the way only to notice that he had the pressure just where it needed to be for the job at hand.

The fire was still under control, which was understood by most people around. All that needed to be done to put it out was turn the gas off and one of the authorities from headquarters sent someone to take care of that.

With a look of pride on his face Chet pulled on a turn out coat and a helmet then stepped up with a turn out coat and a helmet for Frank. "Let's go show them what else you can do."

The two of them walked toward the hose nozzle and Chet talked just a little about how to hold it and how to adjust it to a spray before he motioned for Frank to take the lead and stepped up behind him.

The shut off valve was damaged either by the explosion or the cause of it, resulting in it taking a few minutes to get the gas shut off instead of the seconds he should have taken. For as long as it took them to shut things off Chet talked to Frank about moving the hose around and how to stand to brace himself against the power of the hose.

The injuries and burns on the men knocked down by the explosion were mild thanks to their protective clothing and the speed in which the flames were smothered by those who stepped forward. Many were wondering why Chet Kelly stepped forward to put a hose on the fire that they knew was just a switch away from being turned out. Even more wanted to know more about the wana'be that stepped up and started up the pumps. Chief McConnike and the representative from headquarters were staring down Captain Stanley.

"You taught him how to run the pumps?" McConnike spoke in clear disapproval.

"Nope," Hank spoke with comfortable innocence. "He came here knowing how to do that already. I've been told that he helps out with the volunteer fire department in his home town and that he's the one that makes sure the straps on their air tanks are untwisted when they roll on a fire." Hank paused and noticed the ear to ear smile on Frank's face as he wrestled the hose.

"Kelly told me they never let him work the hose but from what I've seen from the young man so far I get the impression they're quick to stick him with the clean up and all the grunt work."

"He seems to be handling himself quite well on the hose. He looks like he's on a ride at Disneyland."

Johnny walked up right then to report that all of the men only had minor injuries but that their supervisor instructed them to go to the medical center and get checked out further. Looking over at Frank as they shut off the hose and lay it back down on the ground Johnny just shook his head.

"Chet was right. Frank's just as good as half of the people here and he's having the time of his life."

The representative from Headquarters gave permission for Frank to continue on as long as the men from Station 51 stuck with him and made sure he was safe and didn't get hurt. For the rest of the afternoon they mostly just cheered him on as Chet stayed glued to his side.

For the hose relay, where they have to demonstrate the ability to carry and lift rolled up hose, Frank's time was six seconds inside the acceptable range. His mile run he was a minute fifteen outside the acceptable range. Johnny thought he could gain a lot of time by just learning a proper running style but they all knew this was just for fun and even though Frank didn't meet the cutoff he was a long way ahead of the last person across the line.

Because it was a special permission situation, Frank and his supporters had to wait to be the last ones to go up the ladder of the ladder truck, climb through the window of the training tower and run down the stairs taking time to retrieve the practice dummy and drag it out through fake smoke and all this while wearing full gear.

For nearly an hour Frank watched others perform the trial. Some froze near the top of the ladder and others went up to help them back down. Three men slipped and nearly fell through the ladder causing Chet to double check Frank's shoes. When they noticed there were only four men left before them Chet started talking to Frank.

"Okay, Frank, I don't want you to worry about how long it takes you. It's much more important that you get your feet on every rung of that ladder and when you come down the stairs you need to take every step. You lose lots of points if you slip and fall. Do you understand?"

Frank was excited and only seemed to be half listening, but he gave a strong nod yes.

"I'll be right behind you and," Chet looked up to see how he could volunteer to take the lead. The only person he could think of was their sometimes third at bowling, "and, Johnny will go ahead of you to show you the way okay?"

"O…okay, D…d…do I…I g…get t…to w…w…wear th…the m…m…mask?"

When there were only two men to go before Frank was to get his turn Johnny was quick to pull on his turn out gear as Mike, Chet, Marco and Cap helped Frank into his turn out gear and made sure the straps on his air tank were strait. While Chet geared up Mike and Roy worked together to help him fit his mask to his face and gave him a chance to get used to it.

As the last person ahead of them started up the ladder Chet took the mask and gave it one more good polishing to ensure Frank had the best vision possible and then cautioned him one more time. "Take your time, Frank; make sure you touch each rung and each stair."

When the person ahead of them climbed through the window at the top they all waited thirty seconds and then Johnny took the lead. He climbed on the running board of the truck and then reached back to help Frank up. He then showed him the proper places to put his feet until they were actually on the ladder. John continued to lead the way forcing himself to take it slower than his normal pace in order to slow Frank down. He looked back often but each time he did he saw Frank doing just what he had been told to do, he put a foot on each ladder rung. When they got to the window Johnny climbed through and turned around to help Frank through but he didn't need any help. They both waited for Chet to climb through the window before they moved for the stairs. As they started down Chet took Frank's hand in his and placed in on the hand rail.

When they reached the last landing before the fake smoke was to be added to the mix Johnny stopped and turned around. Frank's vision was so tunneled by his face mask and he was looking out to the side at the moment so he didn't see Johnny and plowed right in to him. John stumbled down two steps and slammed his back into the hand rail. He'd have gone down farther if it hadn't have been that Frank was able to grab hold of him with his free arm and held on tight.

Once Chet caught up which was less than a second later they pulled Johnny back up to the landing and allowed him to catch his breath and do a self evaluation.

"S…sorry," Frank got out before Johnny tapped him on the chest to gesture that he was alright before he regained the wind that had been knocked out when he slammed into the rail.

"You okay, Johnny?" Chet questioned.

"Yeah, yeah," Johnny responded while shaking his shoulders, "Just got the wind knocked out of me. I wanted to stop and give you a warning that we're about to get into the smoke so it's going to get even harder to see. Do you know how to deal with smoke?" Johnny realized that this was something he and Chet should have discussed with Frank before they even helped him put on the gear. Still, better late than never.

"Y…yeah, s…stay l…low to th…the f…floor a…and c…crawl."

"That's right," Chet beamed. "While we're still on the stairs you need to keep a hold of the hand rail, this is the last set of stairs before you get to the bottom, so when you run out of stairs and hand rail you need to get down on your knees. Okay?"

Frank just nodded his head with excitement so Chet smiled and continued. "Remember we have a body to rescue on the ground floor."

Again Frank just gave a nod of his head, but he nodded so enthusiastically that he shifted his helmet on his head. Chet repositioned it and then motioned for Johnny to start moving as they fell in behind him.

As the smoke got thicker John slowed down and Frank bumped into him a couple of times before they reached the bottom of the stairs. When they did reach the bottom of the stairs Johnny flattened next to the wall and watched as Frank quickly got down on his knees. Johnny then quickly got down next to him and started to show him how to sweep the floor with his hands to find the victim as Chet got down on his other side and together they moved toward the hint of light through the smoke that was the doorway out.

Chet was the first one to find the dummy and managed to get out of the way and steer Frank toward it then he and Johnny watched with wonder as Frank used his hands to determine where the head was before laying down next to the dummy and pulling an arm around his neck then grabbing hold of a hip with his other hand and rolling back over on his knees with the dummy on his back. They all moved toward the door with Frank leading the way and John and Chet behind him to make sure all was well. Johnny would later voice some concern about the way both feet were hanging off on the same side potentially pulling the body off as well and making for improper balance that could cause an injury to the rescuer but Frank made it out to a cheering crowd.

The dummy was lifted off his back and Frank was taken hold of by his air tank straps and pulled to his feet by Roy. Everyone else gathered around him to pat him on the back as they walked over to the area where they would all help Frank strip out of his turn out gear.

They had just pulled his face mask and helmet off and were allowing Frank to get his eyes adjusted to the light when a golf cart arrived with the man from Headquarters who had given them permission to take Frank through the course.

"I'm sorry," the man spoke quickly. "I know that I gave you permission to take your friend here through the course but we can't allow you to take him on this exercise. It's far too dangerous and there are too many chances of injury for us to be willing to accept that liability in this case."

Now because the man could see that they already had the gear on the guy and he didn't want to get into a debate about it he simply added, "That's the final word," and turned leaving the men standing.

Most of the men were able to hold their breath until the guy from headquarters was on his way but some started giggling before he was gone.

"You know he's right," Cap spoke first and then they all nearly bust a gut in laughter at the timing of the ultimate decision.

It was Mike that took Chet aside as the others helped Frank get out of his air tank.

"He was right on the money with his time, right to the second on the cut off. If it weren't for his run time and of course the written test he could get into the academy."

Chet took in the look on Mike's face, it was one of sheer disbelief combined with amazement and Chet thought he saw a little disapproval. "Of course you know they have a slower time for the tryouts than they require for graduation from the academy."

Chet just gave a short smile and went back to help Frank slip out of his turn out coat.

As they knew he would be, Frank was covered with sweat and the cool breeze was a little extra cool on his back. It was Marco that loaned him his jacket til they got back to Chet's car and Frank's own jacket. They all felt good about what had been done that day and were all more than a little amazed at how well Frank had been able to do.

All eight men went out to a drive-in not far from the training facility for chili dogs where Frank told them how he had been trained to help the residents out of the long term care section of the hospital back home in case there was a fire.

When the chili dogs were consumed and Frank was cleaned up and changed into some chili free clothes, it was suggested that they could go bowling but Frank admitted he was a little tired.

He fell asleep in Chet's van on the way back to the training center.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When they arrived back at the training center it took Chet several minutes to wake Frank up enough to get him out of the car. For a while Chet was afraid he'd have to carry Frank in using the fireman's carry but Frank did arouse a little. Chet ended up grabbing his duffel bag and then pulling an arm over his shoulder as Frank sleepily staggered next to him 'til they were through the door.

As the two men sleep staggered dance through the door and down the hall towards Frank's room Chet caught the forward movement of Mark out of the corner of his eye as staff members came forward to help with Frank.

"Is he sick?" Mark asked and Chet noticed that he had moved to and stopped on the other side of the sofa from him and Frank.

"No, he's not sick," Chet answered with a smile as he rubbed Frank's back as his steadying was shifted over to one of the staff members who proceeded to guide him the rest of the way to his room. "He's just really, really tired. He worked hard today."

"I thought he was going to have fun," Mark questioned.

"Sometimes hard work is fun." Chet responded, going back to his imitated ten year old voice without even thinking about it.

"Uh ha," Mark denied the possibility. "I should know, I had to clean my room today."

Chet's mind quickly flashed back to the memory of Mark tossing everything in his room as he looked for something worthy of showing him that morning. That definitely had to have been a chore to clean that mess back up again.

"Yeah, but sometimes you find treasures or things you've lost when you clean your room." Chet tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

"Do you still have the stamp I gave you?" Mark questioned and Chet smiled carefully noticing that Mark was staying across the sofa from him.

"Yeah, it's in my car, I'll go get it." Chet quickly moved back through the door he entered from and toward his car where he retrieved the star sticker from the safe place he had stored it. He then got into his glove box and pulled out some firefighting stickers and a coloring book along with a small box that contained four, three inch long colored pencils. Rolling the coloring book and stuffing it in his belt in the back and the pencils in his pocket Chet went back inside.

When Chet got back inside he was surprised to find Mark still standing on the opposite side of the sofa but he could take that.

"See, I still have it," Chet held the star sticker and the piece of paper it was attached to out so that Mark could see it. "Do you want it back?"

"NO," Mark spoke adamantly. "I gave it to you."

Chet placed it back inside his shirt pocket vowing to keep it safe so that he could show it to Mark every time he came if he needed to. "The place I went to today had some things they were giving people." Chet started pulling the stickers from his pants pocket and handed the sticker with Smokey Bear on it toward his new friend. "I got one for you."

The first exchange was made at arm's length by both people involved and then Chet offered a shinny metallic sticker that was meant to look like a badge. Mark's eyes got big and round at the sight of that one and he was soon kneeling on the couch and leaning over the back of it. Chet took half a step forward to hand him the sticker.

"Do you like color books?" Chet asked as he reached for the rolled up coloring book tucked in his belt and offered it to Mark.

Mark grabbed for the book eagerly. "Wow, this is about fire trucks."

Chet then offered the small box of colored pencils. "This isn't very good, it's only got four colors but it came with the book. Maybe I can bring you a bigger box of Crayons next time I come."

"That's okay, I have a big box in my room, it has hundreds of colors," Mark called out as he opened the book and turned the pages, not showing any interest in the box of pencils. "Are these fire engines the red ones or the new yellow ones?" Mark asked after turning his third page.

"I guess they can be any color you want them to be."

"There are lots of fire trucks in this book I can have some of each," Mark figured. "DO you want to help me color them?"

"I kinda need to go home and clean my room first. Then I have to wash my clothes so I have clean ones for work day after tomorrow."

"You have to clean your room too?" Mark asked in total surprise. "How come your mom doesn't do it for you?"

Chet hid his laugh pretending to cough then looked at Mark. "I don't live with my mommy anymore**;** her house is too far away from my work."

-0-

Julie staggered into the hospital just after the 6 a.m. shift change. Dixie was just finishing her report to the nurse coming on when she noticed her and quickly found her way to Julie's side.

"Looks like your back from the wedding. I didn't think you were supposed to work here again until this afternoon." Dixie started small talk as she evaluated the student nurse at her side.

"I just got dropped off. I need to get something from my locker then I'll go home and get some more rest and some things done before I have to be back at noon." Julie rubbed at her eyes.

"You look exhausted. Did you drive all night?"

"It's more like I'm not fully awake yet," Julie answered with a smile. "I slept in the sleeper all the way here. My cousin Jack just woke me up after he pulled over in front of the hospital to let me out."

Dixie Smiled. "That is sure an interesting mode of transportation you have there."

"It works and with the resources of my home area there are not a lot of options."

"What do you say I buy you a cup of coffee and we can talk a little while you finish waking up?" Dixie offered as she took Julie by the arm and led her to the doctor's lounge.

"So, was it a good wedding?" Dixie asked as she carried two cups of coffee over to the table where Julie was sitting.

"I guess," Julie answered then warmed her hands on the cup of coffee.

"That doesn't sound like you enjoyed yourself all that much," Dixie commented with a command to tell all in the glare she was giving Julie.

"It's just that my sisters and my sisters-in-law are overly concerned with my current marital status."

"Set you up did they?" Dixie was reading between the lines.

"Worse than that, not only are they worried about my current marital status they are clearly afraid I'm not going to maintain the family tradition."

"Family tradition?" Dixie questioned and continued her friendly glare.

"Yeah," Julie responded with a shake of her head and a mischievous smile for her training superior. "It's a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I have just had one hell of a night on shift and I could really use something to help me unwind before I go home and I have a hunch your story, however long it is, is going to do the job."

"Alright you asked for it." Julie let out a sigh and then began a story she has told more than she cared to count.

"My Father's name is Carl, so is my oldest brother, then came twin sisters whom my parents named Beth and Anne. Then I was born, followed a few years down the line by my younger brother Roy.

"Well as time went on my twin sisters each married a man named Carl. All of the Carls have named their firstborn male Carl and my sister who has all girls is now pregnant again and the sonogram has reveled that after four girls she's finally having a boy so they announced at the pre-wedding gathering that they're going to name him Carl Miller the fourth.

"Between all of my extended family, all of my new sister-in-law's extended family and all of both family's friends who showed up there were twenty three Carls at the reception and whenever my family gets together with friends there is always at least half a dozen wisecrackers that like to shout out, "Hey Carl," at any given moment just to see how many heads pop up. It's enough to drive anybody insane.

"Anyway, soon after my sisters got married my brother Carl married a woman named BethAnne, and just his last weekend my younger brother Roy married a girl by the name of Julie."

Dixie started giggling as she added the last part of the story. "Now you're expected to marry a man named, let me guess, Roy?"

"Yeah," Julie nearly groaned. "Each one of my sisters and each one of my sisters-in-law brought someone to the wedding for me to meet."

"All of them named Roy?" Dixie was still laughing making it possible for Julie to see some humor to the situation.

"Yeah, Roy 1, Roy 2, Roy 3, Roy 4, and worse yet, Julie's Uncle Roy." Julie paused to shake her head once again. "Now Uncle Roy wasn't as old as my father but he's old enough to be my father, not to mention his love of the punch bowl, and when that was empty he had his own very ornate flask in his back pocket. Before he let one of the other Roys cut in on the dance floor he invited me to share his hotel room for the evening. As far as the other four go I can't say that there was anything about any of them that caught my attention. They were all okay on the dance floor but about the only good thing I can say is that I didn't have any trouble remembering their first names."

Now both women were laughing and it was safe to say that Julie was now fully awake and Dixie was completely unwound.

"So if things work out between you and Mr. Chester Kelly is it fair to say your family is not going to welcome him into the family with open arms?"

Julie turned very sober all of a sudden. "Well, Chet and I aren't at that point yet but, if and when I ever get to that point, no matter who it is I get to that point with, it will be my choice and no one else's. If they don't like it, well, too bad."

Before the two nurses parted company Julie talked to Dixie about putting in some extra shifts so that she could finish her degree a little earlier. While she was home there had been hints that she may be required to bring Frank home to his father sooner than she had before hoped and she was told that if they declared a date she would have to comply regardless of what else she was doing in her life. Dixie agreed and a quick stop by the desk was all they needed to schedule the extra shifts.

Julie went to her apartment and after checking the time called Chet to get all the details of how Frank's visit to the firefighting training facility went.

She listened with pride to Chet's very detailed recitation of the day and held her breath when he told her of the job offer for Frank to help maintain the equipment at the training facility.

Julie's next call was to the training center where Frank was currently living where she talked with his lead training supervisor. She was pleased to find out that they knew all about the job offer but sobered as they listed the steps that would have to take place before Frank could accept it. In short order Frank would have to be able to master finances enough to be able to maintain his own household and be declared legally competent to be separated from parental custody. It was a long shot but Julie was pleased to hear that the main focus of Frank's training from now until he was ordered to return home was to teach him how to maintain a budget. There was not a lot of hope but everyone involved was determined not to give up without giving it their best shot.

Julie was also saddened to hear that the fire department officials decided not to traumatize Frank with his award and simply handed it over to the officials at the training center to be placed in his file. Frank never touched it. Jake was sure it had as much to do with the department dignitaries not feeling comfortable with Frank and people of his kind as anything else and even he was slightly disgusted in the way it was dealt with. Jake even suggested that perhaps Mr. Kelly and his friends would like to present it to him in a little more dignified manner.

When Julie hung up with the training center promising to be there the next day to spend some time with Frank she then dialed Chet again and the two talked the morning away. They talked about this and that and absolutely nothing before Julie informed Chet that she brought him back some barbed wire samples for his collection.

After literally talking to Chet on the phone for two hours Julie then got ready and headed back to the hospital early in order to check out the job board before her shift was to start.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

For the next two weeks Chet's shifts and Julie's shifts seldom matched up. There were only two evenings when they were able to get together and on both of those evenings they started by taking Frank grocery shopping and helping him plan a menu as well as patiently teaching him how to use a calculator. Frank had a limit to the money he could spend and they were starting him out with three meals per shopping trip. It was hard for both Chet and Julie to watch him have to put good food choices back because they cost too much but they both knew they had to keep from giving him the extra money he needed to buy them. Another challenge was that not all food was clearly marked as to the price, and they had to constantly remind Frank to add the decimal point as he entered the numbers into the calculator. It was almost painful to realize that to Frank those numbers meant nothing except that they matched a number on his calculator. It was learned that even counting to three when he helped lift something was only a mantra similar to ready, set, go.

Once back at his training center Frank was helped to put his canned goods together in meals. One can of main course, soup, chili, ravioli, was grouped with a can of vegetables and a single cup of prepared pudding.

Every time either Chet or Julie went to the training center they always made a point to say, "Hi", to Mark. They never interacted with him for more than just a few minutes but they often found him running to get his greeting and tell them something new he learned to do. Often he had a brightly colored certificate to show that stated his most recent accomplishment. Julie was able to inform Chet that it was these certificates that Frank's father didn't approve of.

Mark always made a point to stay on the other side of the sofa and for a while there was a chair placed back to back with the sofa and Julie would laugh as Mark would kneel on the sofa and Chet would kneel on the chair as the two talked.

Julie seemed to smile the biggest at the ten year old voice Chet used whenever he spoke with Mark. He had explained that the first time he had interacted with him after the near strangulation, he had been afraid of him and that was the only way he could force himself to talk to Mark. "After that, it just sort of feels natural whenever I see Mark I just pull out my 'talk to Mark' voice."

"He's really responding to it." Julie tucked her arm around Chet's and moved closer. "He values your attention, so much so that he's being more cooperative to the testing they've been giving him and he's trying harder to learn the things they're trying to teach him."

Marco had been good to bring Chet a bunch of stamps that had come on letters from extended family in Mexico and the rest of the guys would bring in anything they got that was in the least bit different. Chet would give Mark one or two every visit intermingled with whatever new sticker he could come up with. Roy and John brought him a few back from Rampart and Chet was able to beg a few off of both the police officers and the county sheriffs that they often worked alongside.

When Mark was telling him that one of the residents complained that he hugged too hard Chet got an idea and he asked Mark to wait for him. He then ran to his car and found the bag of balloons that were under the seat, left over from a party he'd helped decorate for at the station. Chet started by blowing one of the balloons up and tying it off before handing it to Mark and telling him to practice on the balloon. It popped. Chet blew up two more before Frank was ready to leave and each of them was quickly popped as well. Chet left the rest of the package with one of the staff members and the next time he returned he brought two more packages. He was pleased to hear that Mark learned how to give a gentle hug before he used up all of the balloons; he was even able to demonstrate by giving Chet a hug, over the back of the sofa. He was so excited that he had given a truly gentle hug that he followed it by giving Chet a slap on the back that sent him nearly half way across the room. That boy clearly didn't understand his own strength.

One of the staff members reported that Frank was teaching him how to help people get out of the building during the required weekly fire drills.

Each time Chet and Julie took Frank back to the training Center they would then spend the rest of the evening together. Their evenings usually involved a quick meal; usually a chili dog or a hamburger and then they would talk. They talked about Frank and his progress, what was expected to happen next and the differences between him and Mark. They talked about Julie's schooling and how fast she was finishing up her clinicals and some of the different employment options she was applying for. Chet was thrilled that most of them were in the L.A. area but not all of them. For his part Chet talked about his work and some of the runs they rolled on. On both nights the evening ended with Julie falling asleep on Chet's shoulder. She was the perfect example of someone who was burning the candle at both ends and Chet loved the way it felt to hold her in his arms as she slept.

As their schedules continued to conflict, Chet looked ahead to the days after Julie would finish her clinicals and was done with her schooling. The formal graduation would take place after she returned home with Frank but she wouldn't walk across the podium, she would wait by the mail box for her diploma. Chet regretted the absence of that celebration of a well earned accomplishment but Julie did not. She had done it and in following Frank's example that was enough for her. Since Julie would be out of school at the same time he had a four day break they planned to take Frank to Disneyland before he had to go home. It just didn't seem right that he would spend so much time so close to it and not get to go to Disneyland.

Three days before that was to happen, Chet's shift started with a phone call from his lawyer telling him that Dr. Crammer had decided to settle out of court and all of their demands were going to be met. Chet could expect a large check to be delivered by currier with in the week.

Stunned, Chet sat in the nearest chair. The list of grievances had been slightly exaggerated and the monetary compensation had been much higher than anyone really expected to receive.

The rest of the shift was a busy one. The hose bed of the engine was in need of being switched out and the dirty hose tested, washed and hung to dry. It was later in the afternoon when Captain Stanley opened the door of the station to Julie who was dressed in a mud and dried blood covered expensive business suit.

"May I please speak with Chet Kelly for a few moments?" Julie requested as she removed her mud crusted heels from her feet and left them outside the door before stepping in with only her nylons covering her feet.

Julie was offered a seat in the common room but she just took one good look at herself and suggested that if Chet was out back it would be best if she went to him. "You should have made me hose off before you allowed me in the station," Julie joked to her long time family friend. "My mother would have."

"You are a sight," Hank agreed as he walked Julie through the bay and out back to meet Chet. As Chet was giving her the most surprised and questioning look Hank silently signaled the rest of the guys to come in and give Chet and Julie some privacy.

Chet walked over to Julie with his hands out silently gesturing for an explanation when she started talking.

"I tried to call you earlier this morning but there was no answer here at the station." Julie stopped her progress toward him and Chet could tell by the look on her face that the news she carried wasn't good news.

"We've had a lot of runs this morning, back to back some of them. What's wrong?"

Julie looked at the ground and clenched her fists before meeting Chet's eyes once again. "We have to cancel Disneyland, Social services back home called me this morning and told me that I have forty-eight hours to get Frank back into the custody of his father. They called the training center yesterday and were told that it's unlikely that Frank will improve any more than he has with further training and there's some issue with him being out of state this long that no one claimed to be aware about before now. I had a job interview that I'm just coming back from, now I need to go pack up my apartment and clean it out so I can get my cleaning deposit back. The staff at the training center is helping Frank do the same so we can leave first thing in the morning.

"First thing in the morning?" Chet was totally lost for something to say. He knew this moment was coming, Julie had even warned him that the two of them could be called home early, but still he thought he had another week and a half.

The silence was too much for him and yet he didn't know what to say so he changed the subject.

"So how did the interview go this morning?" Chet then gestured toward Julie's mud covered business suit.

"I guess it went alright, the men giving the interview were leading me on a tour of the construction site when some scaffolding fell. With all the rain the last few days it softened the ground and some of the footings sank pulling the scaffolding off balance. Three men were caught in the collapse." Julie just gave a shrug of her dirty shoulders, "Well, I'm a nurse with a fair amount of rescue training and wasn't really dressed for the job but I did the best I could before the fire department arrived with the jacks to complete the extrication. I offered to go with the patients to the hospital but I guess they didn't want me messing up their ambulance."

"Must have impressed the guys doing the interviewing," Chet commented hopefully.

"They did say they liked the idea of a nurse that wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. They said they'll make their decision sometime in the next two weeks. The building won't be ready for a little more than a month so that works with taking Frank home and the court date and all."

"The court date is still the same?" Chet questioned why they had to go home so long before. The court date was still four and a half weeks off.

"Yeah, the judge wants to see how things are going to work out with the new arrangements before he makes his decision. But as long as Frank's Dad doesn't beat him up in that length of time the court date is pretty much just a formality. Even if his dad does mess things up I'm pretty sure they'll relocate him to some kind of a facility in state. All those awards he's earned will help there."

"I wish I could help you pack up, maybe I could get someone to come in and replace me…"

Julie stopped him before he could finish, "That won't be necessary, it's just a furnished studio apartment and I've been mostly living out of my suitcase since I moved there from the training center. My uniforms are already packed up and in the back of the truck. It shouldn't take me more than an hour to get everything loaded up and a few hours to clean the place from top to bottom. Should be the same for Frank, I know he'll want to come by the station and say good-bye to everybody, do you think that will be alright?"

"I'm sure that would be fine, better check with Cap. What time are you going to be heading out in the morning?" Chet talked as he started leading Julie toward the captain so that they could make their request.

Just then the tones sounded calling Chet and the station to a traffic accident with injuries. Chet started running for his place on the engine knowing Julie would find her way back to her truck. "I'll talk to Cap and give you a call."

"The phone will work until I unplug it to leave in the morning."

That was it, the worst good-bye Chet had ever said. And still he was unable to say more.

Chet did call later that evening and permission was granted for Julie to bring Frank by before they left. Thanks to an early morning fire at a car repair garage the good-byes were said during shift change a couple of hours after Julie had hoped to be on the road.

Cap pulled his smoke and soot covered platoon to attention and did them all proud as he presented Frank the polished wood plaque. Explaining that this award wasn't for something he had learned but for putting the welfare of others ahead of himself and using what he had learned to save their lives, ending with telling this special man with eternal youth that it had been a honor to have him at the station to help out and they would all miss him.

The oncoming platoon stood in on the presentation but the snorts and smirks from a few annoyed the men who truly respected this young man.

All six firemen from A shift walked Julie and Frank to the truck that was loaded with everything they had brought with them along with what they'd collected while they were there. Frank was given an LA County Fire Department T-shirt as he climbed in the truck. With everyone there Chet didn't have the privacy to say the good-bye he wanted to. He probably couldn't have found the words he wanted to use anyway but he still wanted to say something more, something to let Julie know that he wanted her to come back.

The two did exchange a friendly kiss and Frank shared a smile that resembled a little brother that had just earned teasing fuel. They promised to keep in touch, but nothing else was spoken.

Chet was still standing on the curb in front of the station long after Julie's truck had driven out of sight.

Author's note: This is not the end of the story just the end of the chapter, there will be more chapters to come.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next shift seemed extra quiet, and it wasn't until Cap came into the day room looking for Kelly that they all started to figure out why. The following shift started out to be just as bad. They were all in the locker room chatting as they changed into their uniforms. Chet had been in earlier than anyone else and was silently sitting on the bench in front of his locker applying a fresh coat of shoe polish to all three pair of his work boots.

When John had finished adding his badge and utility pouch he couldn't take the silent Chet Kelly any longer.

Cautiously preparing to engage in a conversation with his friend Johnny placed his foot on the bench and then, with his arms folded, leaned on his raised knee. "So, um, Chet, have you, um, heard anything from Julie since she left?"

Before he answered Chet stopped what he was doing and looked around at all of his crewmates. "Yeah, a couple of letters, a phone call." He guessed they were her friends, too, so he could let them know that she was still in communication. He didn't intend to tell them everything she'd written or what they'd talked about.

"How's Frank doing now that he's home?" Roy stepped into the conversation with interest.

"Don't know," Chet answered, "Julie's not been allowed to maintain contact with him once custody was transferred back to his father."

"Yeah," Roy sighed at the discomfort he knew he had added to Chet's obvious misery. "I forgot they did things that way."

"Is she working in the hospital there now that she's finished her education?" Johnny questioned more remembering how well they all just loved her, or rather wished she'd drop dead, at that little hospital in the middle of nowhere.

"She's covering one of the outlying clinics while the nurse there takes her vacation. She says one of the residents there right now is named Roy." Chet smirked at the family joke. Still there was a down and out appearance to their friend. I guess the whole community has come together and set a wedding date but it looks like it's going to be an interesting wedding since the groom already has two wives back in Nairobi where he came from to learn medicine so he can treat his people. And Julie is not in the least ways interested in being wife number three nor is she interested in relocating to Nairobi."

John and Roy gave out a smirking laugh as Marco looked clueless.

Chet returned to his downtrodden mood as they moved out to stand in line for roll call. Little did anyone know that Chet wasn't down because of what was being written or told to him in a phone call. He was down because of his inability to tell Julie what was in his heart and terrified of what would happen if he didn't manage to let her know how he felt about her. There were clearly a lot of Roys in the world and her sisters were managing to find them by the bunches.

From roll call Chet was called to the office where Hank had him sit down.

"There's been a request from the Training Center for the Mentally Handicapped for one of their residents to be given a special tour of your station."

"Hooo, Cap, don't say that. I don't want everyone, including you, mad at me." Chet grimaced as Hank smiled. "You didn't approve the visit did you?"

"Actually, Headquarters approved it. (Translation, headquarters ordered it.) It would seem that this visit is a reward for completing all of his training. According to the information I received over the phone your influence had a lot to do with motivating him to do what he was being taught so now he wants to see your fire engine." Hank smiled at his lineman to let him know he didn't take it personally but the increasingly worried look on Chet's face warned him something was coming.

"Did they happen to tell you what the residents name was?" Chet had a sinking suspicion but he was hoping he was wrong.

"Yes it's a man by the name of Mark, let me see here," Hank looked at his notes again, "Yeah Mark Crammer. Do you…" Hank took one look at the blanching face of his formerly mischievous line man and knew they were in trouble.

"This is the same person that nearly strangled you, isn't he?"

Chet nodded his head in response as he was trying to figure out a way to rearrange the furniture from the day room into the bay so that he could keep the couch between him and Mark while he told him about the engine.

Slowly he began to explain to his captain that he was no longer worried about being physically harmed by Mark. "The trouble is, Cap, he's got the mentality of a three or four year old in the body of a professional line backer. I'm not sure how he's going to react to the engine. He could very easily just run at the engine in excitement shoving all of us out of the way as he goes and start yanking levers, breaking them off in the process. To say this guy doesn't understand his own strength is an understatement."

Hank's facial coloring matched Chet's as the two looked eye to eye over the desk. "He'll be here around three this afternoon. You have 'til then to teach the rest of the crew how to help you deal with him."

"Um, Cap, there's one thing I think you should know. I don't exactly act my age around Mark."

Hank wiped his hand down the length of his face hiding his smile as he did so. "Something tells me we're in for a very interesting afternoon."

With time to prepare, the squad was sent to borrow an extra large set of turn out gear from a neighboring station and the sofa was moved in the common room so that it performed as a safety barrier while Chet explained the rules of the station. When the van from the training center arrived their guests were guided through the side door and Chet was waiting for them on the other side of the sofa.

Even though Chet had told them what to expect when Mark arrived the rest of the men were still surprised by his size and obvious weight training. As had been agreed upon once Mark and his trainer were welcomed to the station they were left alone with Chet but before they left the room they all noticed Chet's 'talking to Mark' voice and found themselves giggling in the bay until they knew it was safe to go about the chores that still needed to be done.

Once Chet had finished the rules and Mark agreed to obey them Chet hesitantly stepped around the sofa and stood next to Mark. "Okay, let's go through that door."

Mark was quickly excited that Chet had a red engine, he liked those best. He was also excited that he had a big one and a little one. Chet explained that the little one was for taking care of people that were hurt or sick and the big one was for putting out fires.

Mark didn't like the turn out gear, it was too hot to wear, and the face mask was too scary to put on. The fire siren was too loud and needed to be turned down so that it didn't hurt his ears and the beds in the fire house dorms were too small for Mark, Chet had to agree. When they came back into the bay Mark noticed Mike and Marco working to roll up the hose that Johnny and Roy were taking down from the hose tower and he wanted to help. Making that long thing go round and round really looked like fun to Mark. The guys stepped back and let Chet try to teach him how to do it. Each time Chet finished rolling a hose either Mike or Marco would take it and stack it in the storage closet, before Mark reached the end of his hose he would get off center or some other way that it wasn't able to be stacked so he would just unroll it and begin again. His first two attempts ended up looking more like a ball of yarn than a rolled hose.

Chet just kept encouraging him to try again and practice 'til he got it right.

When it was time for Mark to leave the station Captain Stanley presented him with a fire hose of his own. It was a larger fire hose but unlike the fifty foot lengths they had been rolling this one was only twenty five feet long. It had been run over by an ambulance while he was charged with water and burst a hole in the side so now needed to be retired.

Hank felt as if he had given the man before him the world all rolled up with the hose. He quickly unrolled it and because it was bigger and shorter he was able to roll it back up again and then he picked it up and gave it a hug before carrying it to the van to take back with him.

As soon as the van drove off Chet's talking to Mark voice went with it and all was as it had been before. They went back in and moved the sofa back under the window where it belonged and went on with their day. It was noticed that Chet also went back to being quiet.

During the break John had tried to get Chet to go on a double date with him but Chet had declined saying he'd be lousy company. The same thing happened with the following break.

When Chet arrived early for work a week and a half later he was given a letter that had been sent to the station through headquarters. As the rest of his crew trickled in they found Chet sitting on the bench in front of his locker reading it and they were excited to hear him laughing.

"Is that a letter from Julie?" John was quick to ask.

"NO, Chet responded without taking his eyes from the papers in his hand. "It's a letter from Mark's brother, look at this picture."

Chet produced a photograph and the three men in the locker room gathered around to get a good look at it. It was a picture of Mark a sleep in his bed with the unrolled fire hose in bed with him, tucked under his arm like it was a teddy bear. They all shared a laugh with Chet as he told them more about what was in the letter.

"His brother said that now that he's finished his training Mark's qualified to move into a home with others like him that is just across the street from the retirement center where their parents are staying now. That means they'll be able to see each other on a regular basis.

Chet didn't tell them about the part of the letter where Dr. Crammer admits that he didn't think his brother had a chance of learning what he needed to learn to live in such a center. He was sure that he was destined for a lock down facility where he would have to have been kept sedated to keep him under control. He had only agreed to put Mark in the Training Center at his parents' insistence because he didn't want to upset his father before he'd had a chance to recover from his heart attack. There was also something in the letter about how he had appreciated Chet's assistance in getting his brother to cooperate as well as Frank's help in teaching him some of the things he needed to learn.

The men were lined up for roll call when Captain Hookraider, who had been in the office finishing up his end of shift paperwork, stepped out of the office and talking more to Captain Stanley than anyone else, informed all that were listening that there was a call in the office for Chet Kelly. "They say it's long distance."

Chet was motioned to the office with the command to, "make it quick."

Hookraider lead the way back to the office and the look on his face showed his disapproval for the personal call during the business hours at the station. If it hadn't have been long distance he'd have told them to call back in an hour.

"Los Angeles County Fire Department Fireman Chet Kelly speaking," Chet made sure to go through the whole spiel for the benefit of Captain Hookraider.

The look on Chet's face turned instantly troubled. "Gone, gone where?"


	12. Chapter 12

Warning: tissue alert death involved; I recommend you break out the tissues before you read.

Chapter 12

Hank had just read the second notice to his remaining crew when Captain Hookraider returned to his side and seeing that he had his attention he stepped close and whispered in Hank's ear. The look on Hank's face in response to what he heard was enough to alert the crew that something bad had happened and they all suspected it had to do with Chet Kelly.

Mike was about the only one close enough to hear Hank whisper back to the outgoing captain. "Is he alright?"

"He might be in a minute or two but right now he looks like he's been kicked in the guts by a mule. I'll go see if one of my men is still around just in case."

Hank turned a concerned gaze toward the office before letting out a deep breath. Figuring Chet needed a moment alone to finish his phone conversation and regroup before he was asked to explain, Hank turned back to his notices. There was only one more notice from Headquarters to read and then duty assignments to give out. He read the last notice numbly, and then gave the assignment list a quick looking over. Mentally switching Chet to the dorms before calling out the rest of the assignments and dismissing his men to their work.

Hank turned and headed for the office to see what Chet's needs were.

-0-

Chet had managed to tell the person on the phone to be sure to keep him informed, promising to do everything in his power to get there for the funeral. Now he sat at the desk still holding the lifeless phone in his hand.

His mind replayed the entire conversation including every feeling he had including the moments he felt nothing.

He could hear the tears in her voice the instant she spoke and it troubled him that he couldn't take her in his arms to comfort her. "Chet, it's Julie… Frank's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Chet's first instant interpretation was that Frank had run away from his father and that he was likely to show up at the station anytime now by way of the Lazy J semi-transportation line.

"He's dead," Julie froze his ability to breath as his heart jumped into his throat blocking all passage of air in or out.

"Dead? How?" Were the only words Chet's strangled voice could utter. He had been aware of a strong hand taking a hold of his arm and pulling him toward the chair that was being pushed into the back of his knees.

Julie's voice was hitched as she took an audible breath. "I don't know all the details yet, but he was at a fire… he had to have gotten there before the fire department because they never let him do anything other than stay by the engine or the ambulance. Sometimes they let him change their air bottles or thaw out their regulators but..." Chet heard the hitched gasp for air and the emotion in Julie's voice. "I was told that he was handing children out of a window when the ceiling came down on him."

Chet's replay of the phone conversation was interrupted by a gentle and supportive hand placed on his shoulder. That's when he noticed the beeping in the phone confirming that the call had been discontinued and the phone needed to be hung up.

Chet was sure the hands that had placed him in the chair he was sitting in had belonged to Hookraider, but the hand that was rubbing his shoulder was more compassionate, so much more tender than Chet believed Hookraider was capable of. A turn of his head confirmed it was his Cap trying to comfort him.

"Are you okay there, Pal?" Hank asked as he took the phone hand set from Chet's still stunned hand and placed it back on the phone.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm okay; I, I just need a minute."

"Hookraider said he was pretty sure that phone call was to inform you someone had died, do you need me to get a replacement for you?"

Chet took a deep breath then closed his eyes tight against the tears that were threatening to fall.

"No, I want… I need to go to the funeral; I'll need, need time off then, better stay on shift now."

"Who was it, Pal?" Hank asked. He had to determine for himself if Chet was capable of staying on shift. If it was an immediate family member there was compassionate leave that would allow him to take time off now until the funeral providing it wasn't more than a week.

"Oh, oh man," Chet's emotions broke through. "I have to tell the guys, the rest of the crew, they'll want to know."

That was the point when Hank knew the death was someone they all knew. Not able to guess with any certainty who it was, Hank left Chet's side for just a moment.

Standing in the doorway to the office he could hear John and Roy checking out the squad and called out John's name.

John's head popped up on the other side of the squad like toast out of a toaster. "Would you gather the crew in the day room please?"

It was clear by the look on John's face that he knew they were about to be given bad news. Unable to speak he simply nodded his head and ran to where the rest of the guys were.

Hank returned to Chet's side and rubbed the back of his neck one more time before helping him to his feet. Together they moved toward the day room stopping at the radio console.

"LA, this is Station 51," Hank managed to keep the sound of any emotion out of his voice. "Time out 20 minutes."

They were in the doorway to the day room before dispatch responded, "10-4, 51"

Four men sat at the table looking expectantly at Cap and Chet as they moved toward the table. Captain Hookraider had been standing at the stove but he now felt as if he was butting in on this shift's family crisis and quietly slipped back to the office to finish his paper work.

Chet took a firm hold on the back of the chair in front of him and turned his moist eyes to the line were the ceiling and the wall met.

"Frank Dillon was killed sometime last night or early this morning." He spoke clearly and quickly.

"Fran… Frank, Julie's Frank?" Hank stammered in surprise. Frank hadn't been on his mental list of possibilities. Of course, it had been a long distance phone call. He had forgotten to add that into the equation.

"How did it happen?"

"Was it his father?" John and Roy asked in unison.

"I wasn't able to get all of the details but apparently there was a house fire, and um, he was handing children out of the window when there was a structure collapse." Chet had to turn away to hide the emotions he could no longer contain. His voice would no longer work; there was nothing more he could say.

The rest of the men all sat stunned, unwilling to believe what they had just been told.

Before the twenty minutes had elapsed Chief McConnike arrived to investigate the reason for the time out. He too was stunned by the news. Chet was allowed some private time in the dorm and returned put together. His red eyes betrayed the tears that had been shed in private but he was able to convince both Captain Stanley and Chief McConnike of his ability to do his job. Hank knew he'd benefit by the companionship of the rest of the crew so he welcomed him to stay on shift.

The moment Station 51 went back in service they were called out on a minor traffic accident that had just managed to start a brush fire. The men were all hopping there for a while to get the fire contained making them late getting back to the station for lunch. While Marco and Mike teamed up to get a meal ready Chet got on the phone. He started by calling a dozen fellow firefighters that owed him a favor. He was only able to speak to one of them in person. He readily agreed to cover one of Chet's next four shifts.

To all the rest he left a message that he was trying to clear the way to attend an out of state funeral, and from there he had to wait for them to return his call and hope he wasn't out on a run when they did.

The day proceeded to be semi busy, with just enough runs to keep them all from thinking a lot about their fallen friend.

Hank had watched Chet in action and he seemed to be doing fine as far as doing his job but he wasn't talking to his shift mates when he was back at the station and Hank knew he had to have a heavy load on his soul that he really needed to share. They had all spent some time with Frank but none of them anywhere near as much time as Chet. He had truly taken that young man under his wing even if it was just to get closer to Julie.

-0-

Chet was climbing the walls inside of himself. He needed to get to Julie, he could only hope that she had someone to hold her right now but he wanted to be that person so much his whole being ached. And Frank how could he really be gone?

It was good that work had been busy enough that he didn't have a lot of time to think because when he did he had to ask himself if he weren't somehow responsible for the death of his friend. Had he helped him experience more about the world of firefighting than he should have? Did taking him to the open house make him believe that he could do more than he really could?

Fortunately while the engine was out dealing with a few inspections John had taken a call for him and two more of his next four shifts were now covered. If he could just get next shift covered he'd leave as soon as he got off shift in the morning and head out.

Chet started making a list; he couldn't afford to forget anything. He'd need to make sure he packed his dress uniform. Frank deserved to be honored as a fallen firefighter. He had no idea how the people in his home town would handle the situation but Chet was determined to honor him.

-0-

The rest of the crew kept an eye on Chet throughout the day. They were quick to hand him a cup of coffee when he looked like he was a million miles away. Someone made sure he was escorted to the table when meals were ready but no one was surprised that he didn't eat much. While everyone made a point to stay close no one forced him to talk. They all understood that there really wasn't a lot to say; still they were quick to place a supportive hand on his shoulder or to just sit next to him to let Chet know they were there for him. They all wished there was more that they could do but couldn't think of what that might be.

Nearly all of them wondered if they shouldn't be trying to get to the funeral, more so Roy and John. Would they be butting in if they went? Where would they stay?

Chet had said that they hadn't set a date and time for the funeral yet, would they find out when in time to get there? What if the funeral was scheduled for when they were on shift?

Before dinner was ready Chet had not only received return calls confirming that all of his next four shifts were covered there had been three extra offers. Each of the men asked whose funeral Chet was trying to get to, each man was just told that it was a close friend.

During dinner the phone rang and Hank answered it before offering the phone to Chet. It was Jack Mumford on the line.

"I just so happen to be headed down to San Diego with a load then I'm picking up a load of seed to haul back. Carl Clark suggested I give you a call and see if you wanted to ride back with me. He said to tell you you're welcome to stay in the bunk house."

"Jack, I'd love to take you up on the offer but I don't get off shift until eight o'clock in the morning."

"That sounds great; I'd love to get a hot sit down breakfast for a change. Can I pick you up across the street from the station there? It will be a whole lot easier to park this beast I drive."

"Sure, I'll be ready for you." Chet agreed and as soon as he hung up he just picked up the phone again. He called his sister and begged her to pack him a suitcase for a week and please pack his dress uniform.

Cindy Kelly showed up at the station before everyone turned in for the night with the requested items. Chet let her take his car for the week in return.

It was a quiet night at the station, one of those rare ones when you didn't get called out, still the men didn't sleep well, Chet not at all.

Chet finally moved to the common room, Hank followed a few minutes later to find his lineman with his head in his hands. Once again he sat next to his friend and started to rub his back. No words were spoken; there just wasn't anything to say.

Jack arrived at 7:45 the next morning; Chet's replacement had been early also so Hank gave him the go ahead to leave. He didn't even try to change out of his uniform. Chet just grabbed his bags and started running across the street after looking both ways for cars.

As soon as Hank arrived home he gave his onetime Fire Chief a call. He hated some of the things he heard and was frustrated that no funeral date and time had been set yet. But he and all of his men had been invited to stay in the bunk house and Carl Clark promised to call him back with the date and time as soon as he heard what it was.

Jack had been able to tell with one look that Chet hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He had a co-driver this trip that Chet remembered from their patient transport trip when they hauled Roy, with complications of a head injury and the town doctor with complications of a blood clot in the leg, back to Rampart in this very eighteen wheeler pulling a trailer full of pigs. James and his wife, who was nearing the end of a pregnancy with what turned out to be triplets, had been in a car following behind them all the way.

"I've got James along on this trip," Jack talked as he thumbed Chet into the sleeper, "Got to get him out of the house as much as I can these days if he has any hope of getting sleep with them triplets at home now."

Chet gave a week smile and thanked them both for allowing him to ride with them. It must have been the steady vibrations of the engine and the road but somehow Chet managed to fall asleep. He woke up as they stopped at the last state line check point to find that someone had straightened him out on the bed and covered him with a blanket.

Jack stopped to unhook the trailer and drop James off then drove the tractor section of his semi with Chet out to the ranch. As he drove he explained that he'd be heading out tomorrow with a load of sheep they were exchanging with another ranch to make sure they didn't have a problem with inbreeding.

They pulled up at the ranch as another semi was backing up to a pen to unload a bunch of pregnant ewes.

Chet was quick to shoulder his garment bag and then grab his suitcase and jump down from the tractor. He couldn't see Julie anywhere and the only person he recognized was her father who was organizing the unloading of the other semi.

Carrying his bags, Chet walked toward him and waited for him to give instructions to one of his men.

"You know where the bunk house is," Carl spoke matter-of-factly. Chet detected a sour tone in his voice and hoped it wasn't aimed at him. "Once you drop your bags, you'll find Julie in the barn. She's taken to milking the cows and cleaning the barn the last couple of days where she can be by herself."

Chet didn't like the sound of that and was quick to head off to unload his arms and then find her. He had just turned to leave when Carl took a hold of his arm to stop him.

"Someone claimed that Frank started the fire that got him killed." There was anger in Mr. Clark's voice but Chet felt assured that it wasn't aimed at him. "There's a Grand Jury type thing tomorrow where they're getting all of their evidence together to see if it's anything more than a sour rumor certain folk in this area like to spread. Julie's taking it real hard."

Chet felt some of the same anger he was feeling from the man talking to him. There was no way he could believe Frank would set a fire especially in a house where someone lived.

Chet took the steps to the bunk house two at a time and when he reached the top he found the door unlocked and stepped in just far enough to drop his bag on the first bed, then looking sorrowfully at the bottom bunk were Frank had slept when they first met him, Chet then left in search of Julie.

He found Julie right where her father had said she'd be she was sitting on a stack of hay bales as a couple of cows fed in the next stall.

Chet announced his presence. "This must be the very finest in fresh milk dispensers."

Julie looked up with tear filled eyes and ran into Chet's waiting arms.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Dinner was ready to go on the table at the Clark home and Carl Clark the oldest was looking for his daughter and since she had spent so much of her time the last few days in the barn that is where he looked first.

When Carl walked into the barn he quickly saw his daughter with the fireman from California. She looked as if she had cried herself to sleep in this man's arms.

Julie had finally shared her grief with someone. He wished she could have opened up to him but after all he had said to her in opposition of the time she spent with this handicapped young man to make his life better he could understand why she wouldn't come to him. Carl's thoughts turned to Julie telling him that she didn't want just any guy; she was holding out for a man.

Mr. Kelly was still in his uniform, a testament to the fact that he just hopped in Jack's semi and came right from work. The moisture on his face bore testament to the fact that he cared for this young man as much as his daughter did. There was noticeable dampness to the front of the uniform in the area of each of the shoulders. Carl Clark Sr. felt at peace at last. It was clear that his daughter had found such a man.

Less than an hour ago he had learned why his daughter came home and kicked two bales of hay apart the night before they learned of Frank's death. What had Julie ever done to deserve the vindictiveness of the folk in these parts?

Carl quickly removed his coat and wrapped it around his daughter's shoulders as she slept on Chet's shoulder. Chet just moved to place his arm on the outside of the coat and hold it tighter around her as he tucked the front part between Julie and himself.

"Thank you," Carl spoke to Chet quietly.

Chet smiled but said nothing.

"I came to get you two for dinner but I don't know what she needs most food or sleep, don't think she's had any of either since we got the word."

"Well," Chet whispered, emotions affecting his voice. "She's made it to sleep maybe it would be best to let her at it and feed her when she wakes up."

"Yeah," Carl responded nodding his head as he spoke. "I'll help you get her inside where it's warm."

Before Carl was able to move into a position to help lift his daughter Chet slipped the hand that had been stroking her hair under her knees and stood up with Julie in his arms making it clear that the only help he needed was for someone to open the doors for him. Carl moved ahead to do just that.

Chet walked along carrying Julie pausing only to kiss her forehead and snuggle her into his shoulder with his cheek when the cool breeze started to awaken her. It wasn't a long distance to the house and once they were there Carl lead the way to Julie's room and turned down the bedding. Chet lay her in the bed and carefully removed her father's coat from around her shoulders as he pulled the blankets up and talked soothingly as he did so. Like Chet had been in the semi Julie was exhausted enough to go back to sleep and once she stilled and settled in Chet silently followed her father out of the room.

With a jerk of his head Carl directed Chet to the dining room table. "It's not anything really fancy just a pot of clam chowder, Julie seems to like it and she really needs to eat something.

Not knowing what to say and feeling a little hungry himself Chet watched as a ladle of chowder was poured into a bowl and placed in front of him. Waiting patiently for his host to be ready to eat Chet took his first, best table manners yet, taste.

Smiling Chet went back for his second taste to confirm his suspicions. "You must be the one who taught Cap how to make such great clam chowder."

"Are you telling me that Henry still uses the recipe he begged a year and a half to get me to write down for him?"

"Well, it tastes the same, but he doesn't use a recipe any more; he makes it from memory and if it took him that long to get the recipe I guess that's why he will never let anyone around him while he's cooking it."

It felt good to smile and then a second later it felt wrong to smile. Chet took another taste of his chowder then set his spoon down.

"Sir, I've gotten to know Frank really well the last few months and I have to tell you that there is no way that he started that fire."

Carl toyed with his chowder then looked up at his guest. "It is possible alright, but I know he didn't do it either."

"I didn't take it personally when the state fire marshal asked his questions. He doesn't know anyone in this area from Adam. He's just came in to do a job and he's doing the right thing to check out every lead. They've got a problem in town; have had for close to two years now. I've heard of similar problems throughout the county and into the next. For some time now, two maybe three times a year an older house burns to the ground. There's no way Frank is responsible for the fires in the neighboring areas. Unless he was driven by someone else he never went any farther than he could walk. He was here on the ranch when several of the fires took place. There were two such fires while he and Julie were in California. Whoever is responsible seems to be accelerating.

"I used to think it was just an inadequate Fire Chief. The one they've had for the last eight years or so is more than a little short of knowhow. But then what can the town expect when they're only willing to pay fifty bucks a month and obsolete and worn out equipment or no equipment, no one else wants the job.

"They had a guy about ten years ago that was a former firefighter out of Arizona. The Mayor ran him out on a rail after about six months. Every town council meeting he'd ask for money to make the department safe. Things like turn out coats that were newer than fifty years old and not deteriorating, replacing the clutch on the fire engine before it broke down completely and had to be towed to the fire, stuff like that.

"The Mayor doesn't like to spend money the city doesn't have, I'll give him that but there are needs that he doesn't see as needs. The man runs unopposed in most elections, guess no one wants his job either.

"I suggested they bring in a state investigator to look into these fires nearly a year ago. Now that there has finally been a fatality they have no choice. I don't like some of the rumors that are going around but it's about time they got to the bottom of things."

Carl took several more spoons full of chowder as he gave Chet a look that made him uncomfortable.

"The investigator was here late this afternoon asking if there was any truth to the rumor that Julie was pregnant." Chet suddenly and completely understood the look he had been getting.

Chet answered without hesitation. "No sir, I have not taken advantage of your daughter. She has been working her butt off to finish her education, work a part time job to be able to cover what expenses her savings didn't and spending whatever time she could to see to it that Frank was taken care of and had the support he needed to advance in the program he was enrolled in."

Carl nodded his head in satisfaction with the answer given. "Actually, it seems the rumor going around is that she's carrying Frank's child. I knew that wasn't the case. Those of us that have known Frank for a few years now know that his father saw to it that he was rendered incapable of producing offspring before he reached puberty."

Chet understood where the man across the table from him was coming from. Instantly he was grateful that he had asked him instead of Julie to confirm or dispute the rumors he had been asked about. Chet felt assured that he had passed the test.

Chet's mind turned to Frank and wondered if his father had used medical intervention or a painfully placed foot to render his son sterile. He told himself that it was none of his business and then asked the other question he wanted an answer to.

"What is it that people around here have against Julie?"

Carl actually looked pleased with that question.

"I don't really know. I suspect that each person involved has their own reasons. For the most part I think that it's in response to pain others have caused and by wana'be suitors that she's rebuffed. There are times when she can be a regular bull moose when she's right and she knows it. That's caused a few waves.

"Mostly I think the rumors are started by people that feel trapped in this territory that time forgot and can't take it that she's made something of herself and can go anywhere she wants with the skills that she has and the name that she's made for herself. Some are afraid she's going to take their job, others are just plain jealous."

After dinner Chet made even more points with Julie's father by helping with the dishes before the two of them sat in front of the fire place.

Carl broke a long silence. "I have a couple of favors I need to ask of you if I may."

"If I can," Chet was quick to respond.

"First, I'd like you to go with us to this inquisition thing tomorrow afternoon. I want you to tell them about Frank and the time you've spent with him. You'll probably be considered an expert witness because of your education and years with the fire department back in LA."

"I want to go anyway. I want to be there for Julie."

Carl smiled again. "The second favor, well, someone needs to go through the closet in the bunk house where Frank's things are kept. For years now this has been the place he would come when his Dad admitted he needed a break from him. We've always kept at least three changes of clothes for him, you know, one to wear, one to wash and a spare. I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before he'd be back even after the six months in California. He also left his favorite fireman print pajamas here when he went home this last time. His dad thinks they're ridiculous and he wanted to try hard to make his dad happy that he was coming home." Carl huffed at that thought then held his breath for a moment.

Carl took a deep breath to keep his emotions from over flowing, "There's a sock monkey out there that Julie made for him. I think she may want to keep that, but everything else can go in a box and a, well I guess it should just be dropped off at the nearest Goodwill store, or maybe that training center he just came from could put them to use."

"I'll take care of it, sir," Chet solemnly agreed.

Carl took a break to go get a drink from the kitchen and stopped by Julie's room to check on her before he returned. She was lying there awake so he coaxed her to come with him to sit by the fire. The remaining clam chowder was warmed up and Chet convinced her to eat it. Actually he told her that if she didn't eat it herself he was going to spoon feed her and that got her started. After a few spoons full she realized how hungry she was and finished off a couple of bowls full.

The three of them stayed by the fire late into the night and since Carl felt a change of topic of conversation was in order he asked how his old friend Henry was as a Captain. The conversation led to the crush Julie had on him when he worked at the ranch the summer just before he got married and they were all laughing before they split up to try and get some sleep.

**Author's Note:** As I stated repeatedly in the first story of this series, there is a lot of comparison to the area I grew up in. I've also repeatedly reported that each character was built by combining traits of several different people to make one person in the story. That said there was one such special friend in my life that did meet with a tragic end that was my inspiration for killing Frank off. My friend didn't die in such a heroic manner as Frank did but that ending fit with my story. Also the part about the fire chief being paid fifty dollars a month is true for such area's including the one I grew up in. I have lost touch with the area now and have no idea what the pay scale is back home today.

I do have to add that as was reveled in the prequel chapter of the first story, my father was the fire chief in our area during the time frame that this story is based. I feel that for future hope of any relations with said father I have to add that the part in this last chapter that will be continued in the next chapters do not relate to him. My father was one of a dozen firefighters when he was still in high school that completed a correspondence course in fire fighting while he was part of the fire department. His Chief at the time taught some of the lessons during fire drills. After years with the local fire department he was appointed as the local fire chief, a position he held from the time of my early youth until he feared he was getting too old to do the job any longer. His pay at the time was a paid health insurance premium.

The man that took his place was a medically retired firefighter from a larger city and he was appalled with the equipment he inherited to work with. The city council didn't like him much and his appointment was unappointed in a matter of months. I could say some things about the Chief that took over next but since he's still in charge I think I better not.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chet was awakened the next morning by the muffled sound of a telephone. He opened his eyes and took just a second or two to remember where he was and from there he was able to find the cabinet where the phone was hid before it stopped ringing.

"Hello."

"Good morning," Carl Clark responded. "There's a member of the investigation team here who would like to ask you a few questions. Are you decent?"

"I will be in two minutes," Chet started grabbing for his pants as he spoke.

"I'll send him on over then. When he's done with you breakfast will be ready at the house."

Chet realized that the pants he had grabbed were his uniform pants so he dropped them again and opened his suit case. Realizing as he did that he had no idea what his sister packed for him and wondered if he needed to do a load of laundry to have something appropriate to wear to the Grand Jury that afternoon. He was pleasantly surprised by what he saw and then remembering he hadn't had a shower in two days now Chet opted to pull his work pants on and then another shirt. He was just buttoning his shirt up when the knock came on the bunk house door.

Chet opened the door to see a man holding his credentials up for him to see. "Come," a yawn he couldn't hold back interrupted his welcome. "Sorry about that, come on in."

Chet stepped back and covered his mouth as another yawn came. As he did so he felt his stubbly face. He'd have to make sure he shaved before he went over for breakfast.

"Sorry," Chet apologized.

"That's okay. Mr. Clark told me that you'd been up talking quite late last night. I was hoping I could ask you about some of the training Frank Dillon received while he was out west these recent months."

"Sure," Chet responded, the talk he had with Julie's father during dinner last night had really put him at ease with the investigation that was taking place. Chet turned around to look for a place to direct the man before him. His bed was unmade his suitcase lay open on the next bed on top of the garment bag that he had lain out to keep his dress uniform from wrinkling. "Um, there's a kitchen at the other end down there; what do you say we go there and talk."

Chet led the way, yawning a couple more times as he walked. When he got to the table he pulled out a chair and then took one on the other side of the table.

As soon as the man sat down Chet started to talk. "I'm not sure I can tell you too much about the training Frank got, I know they checked him out on things like making his bed and doing laundry and stuff like that but he knew all that before he got there. I know they taught him how to cook—"

"That's not the training I was asking about," the man interrupted Chet as he talked. He also pulled a small tape recorder out of his pocket and turned it on before setting it on the table in front of Chet. "We have the records from the training program Mr. Dillon was involved in. What I want to know is what you trained him to do in regards to firefighting."

Chet was surprised by that line of questioning. "Nothing, sir. What Frank knew he knew before he arrived out west."

"You mean to tell me you didn't teach him the things he'd need to know in order to be accepted at the Firefighting Academy out there?"

"No sir, I gave him the opportunity to do a few things that he'd never get a chance to do here like climb the ladder on a ladder truck and descend the stairs of a training tower, but aside of telling him to take it slow and make sure he touched every rung and every step it was all for fun. Yeah, nearly everyone else that was there that day was trying out for a spot at the academy but hey, I knew Frank wasn't academy material, I mean he couldn't even read. There was no way he could take the written test. I just knew he would have the time of his life and he surprised a lot of people with how well he did. I was even surprised a little. His run time was off but everything else he did, his times would have got him on the list."

"So you didn't train him in preparation for this academy tryout?"

"No, not at all."

"I was told that you had him over to the fire station on several occasions to participate in training drills."

"Well, I don't know who told you that. He was only at the station three times that I'm aware of."

"Tell me about those times."

"Well, the first time was when he first arrived in California. We, me and two of my shift mates, had been out here on a fishing trip. On our way home we were in an accident not far from here. We barely missed being in a head on collision and to avoid it we were up on two wheels for a while. One of my friends was in the back of the Rover and he didn't have his seat belt on so he got tossed around a little and got a head injury but the other truck over corrected and ended up rolling several times. That driver was hurt pretty bad and then his truck started on fire. Anyway we did what we could for them and Julie, Frank and her brother just happened along to get us in to the nearest hospital.

When Roy, he's the one who got the head injury, anyway he started having problems so we hitched a ride back to LA with her cousin who drives a semi and then he came out again a few days later with Johnny's truck and Julie's truck and Frank, oh and all of our fishing and camping gear. Since they were dropping everything off at the fire station I made arrangements to give Frank a tour of the station. He surprised us then by talking through the steps to work the pumps and charge the hoses and then told us about all of the differences between our truck and his back here.

"The second time was my first shift back after being in the hospital. Frank and Julie had given me a ride home from the hospital and then Frank practiced one of the dishes he'd learned to cook. While we were eating dinner he was talking about a work trial where he had participated in washing police cars." Chet paused to smile at that memory, "It was clear that he was disappointed in washing police cars and he told us that he had asked to get a work trial washing fire engines but was told that he couldn't.

"Anyway I told him that fire engines had to be washed just right and that the hose had to be loaded a special way, and that's when he told me he knew all about that and proceeded to tell me how they had to be loaded. I mean Frank has a mean stutter and it takes him four times longer to explain things than a normal person but it was clear he knew how to do it.

"On my first shift back we had back to back fires and the engine was covered with layers and layers of mud and muck, and so were the hoses. Our last fire before we were stood down for clean up was at an apartment building across the street from the training center where Frank was staying and when we finally got it out I talked my Captain into letting Frank come to the station and help us wash the engine. He got a chance that day to show everyone what he could do. Wasn't a man in the station that wasn't checking out his work as he was loading the hosed back on but he showed them he knew what he was doing."

"Do you have any idea where he learned all that stuff?"

"He had to have learned it here; Julie told us that he rolled on all the fires with the fire department here. She said they didn't let him fight the fires but that he helped them get their air tanks on and make sure their straps were untwisted. From what he showed us in LA he must have helped with clean up."

"What about the other time he was at the station?" the man questioning Chet was writing in a notebook as he listened.

"That was the morning they left to come back here," Chet remembered that day and the last time he saw his friend alive. Moisture started to collect in his eyes as he remembered his captain presenting him the plaque to award him for his bravery in rescuing people from the apartment fire. Cap had told him that it had been an honor to work with him. Chet silently thanked the power above that they had been given the chance to tell him that.

"He and Julie stopped by on their way out to say good-bye to everyone."

"He didn't work with the equipment that time?"

"NO," Chet's emotions were starting to squeak through. "We got a late call that morning, a house fire and we didn't get back to the station until after shift change. The next shift had been there for over an hour and took over as soon as the trucks were back."

"So to your knowledge the next shift didn't let him work with the equipment?"

Chet shook his head. "NO, not Hookraider's crew. They didn't, well let's just say they aren't as impressed with Frank as the rest of us. Hook, Captain Hookraider, tried to keep them in line but they never got past Frank's stutter."

The man questioning Chet let the silence linger for a moment after he finished writing. He then looked at Chet and then turned to some earlier pages in his book to read for a moment.

"The night of the fire where he was killed," the man started talking once again with his eyes locked on Chet's, "Mr. Dillon had responded to an earlier alarm at the same house where a minor fire in an electrical box was believed to be put out. After the fire department left Mr. Dillon continued to hang around. The local police officer finally coaxed him into the patrol car and tried to take him home but Mr. Dillon insisted on staying where he could see the house until the family replaced the smoke detector that had been declared defective.

"According to the police officer in question this was the second time he had done this since returning from his training program so while they waited and watched from the police car across the street from the house in question, the police officer asked him why he was keeping watch."

The man paused and toyed with his pen for a moment before proceeding. "The police officer also talked about Mr. Dillon's profound stutter but he said that Mr. Dillon told him about a friend back in Los Angeles named Chet who told him that sometimes a fire can still burn in the insulation inside the walls and ceilings, and that it would just smoke until the fire got enough air to start really burning and then it would spread fast. He told the officer how the firemen in Los Angeles would pull the ceilings down to make sure there was no fire in the walls before they left the place where the fire was. This fire department doesn't do that so Mr. Dillon was insisting on watching until a new smoke detector was in place to warn the family if a fire were to start again. According to the police officer no sooner had he explained his reasons for staying to him when they saw a flash of fire from an attic window and Frank Dillon ran to the house to wake everyone up and get them all out."

Before this investigator was finished Chet's face was as pale as a ghost his breathing faster than it should be and his memory all too clear.

"The day I took him to the tryouts,,, he asked me why we pulled the ceilings down at the apartment fire he watched us fight. I answered him, just like I've done every time anyone ever asks that question."

The tears that had been building started to drain down Chet's face. "I, I didn't mean for him to, I'm the reason he's dead."

Unable to do anything else Chet buried his face in his hands. It wasn't long before he heard the other chair scrape across the floor and then a strong hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think there is a fire fighter anywhere that wouldn't have answered that question, or anyone else that knew the answer to the question. As much as you might be right, that the answer indirectly led to this man's death, I hope that you can find comfort in the fact that it also saved the lives of two families."

"Two?" Chet turned a surprised look at the person who had been questioning him.

"Yeah. I told you that he had done this before. Just six days before he waited all night keeping watch on another house until the home owner went out the next morning and bought a new smoke detector. When the new detector sounded off as soon as they put the batteries in it Mr. Dillon asked to look through the hatch to the attic and pulled out a couple of hands full of smoldering insulation. The home owner was a bit miffed at the mess that he made but once it was explained that where ever there's smoke there's fire he realized how much he owed Mr. Dillon.

It took Chet a moment to gain some composure. "So you know for sure that he didn't start the fire then?"

"Yeah, there's no question about how the fire started."

"Is there still a grand jury this afternoon?"

"Yeah, yeah there is. There are a few things that still need to be brought out in open court."

"I'll be there."

"We'll probably call on you to testify." There was silence for a moment and then the man placed his notebook and recorder back in his pocket. "I'll let myself out."

The man moved toward the door but stopped and turned around. "I guess that boy wasn't as dumb as everyone thought he was."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chet continued to sit at the table in the kitchenette of the bunk house, his heart still heavy with guilt over what he had just learned.

He had no idea how long he sat there before he was pulled out of himself by the sound of a ringing phone.

"Hello."

"Hey, I saw that guy drive off ten minutes ago; what's taking you so long to come for breakfast?" Julie asked with laughter in her voice.

Chet let out a quivering sigh and fought to find words to say. None came to his mind.

"Chet, are you alright?" Julie had picked up on the tone in his silence. "What did that guy do to you?"

Again Chet could find no words except, "It was my fault."

Chet was still sitting on the bed with the phone handset to his ear when Julie and her father let themselves into the bunk house and sat down on either side of him. After a minute of back rubs and coaxed breathing Chet was able to tell them everything that had been talked about and what he had been told.

"So now they know for sure that he didn't start the fire," Carl responded with something other than the anger and rejection Chet expected.

Julie remained silent and stunned for a moment then bent over so that she could look in to Chet's eyes as he sat with his head bowed.

"I think I can understand how you must be feeling but you couldn't have not answered his questions. It would have been like telling him his question was too stupid to answer.

"She's right, son, It was a legitimate question that deserved an answer. It's not your fault that the volunteer fire department in town doesn't know how to get a fire out like you do."

Julie's arms found their way around Chet's chest and he was pulled closer to her. Feeling like he was going to fall over Chet placed his hand down on the bed to steady himself. As his hand moved over the extra blanket he had placed on the bed because he was cold, Chet's mind turned back to Frank.

"He must have been freezing being outside all night long."

"Being cold never stopped Frank before," Carl commented knowing this young man had a lot more talking that he needed to do.

"I remember when we first met you guys." Chet talked with a faraway look on his face. "When Roy started to go bad he knelt on the floor right there." Chet nodded with his head to the spot where Frank had knelt on the floor. "He just held Roy's hand for over an hour and a half and I remember thinking his knees must be killing him kneeling on that hard floor for so long. He just kept doing everything he could to, I don't know, to let him know he cared, I think."

"He did the same thing with the sick lambs," Carl remembered and gave Chet's back a little more vigorous rubbing. "When in spite of all the care he gave it the lamb still died my wife knelt down to comfort him and he just looked at her and asked if the lamb knew that someone cared."

"Yeah," Chet nodded his head. "That sounds like something Frank would do."

Julie continued to hold Chet and he was finally able to put an arm around her so that the two were holding each other.

Looking to her father Julie asked, "Do you think Frank knew he was cared about?"

"The way he talked about all the things you three did together," Carl smiled at his daughter and her very close friend. "He knew. He knew you two thought he was someone special. Before you loaded him in the truck to take him the rest of the way into town the last time he told me that you made him someone special and now he was going to make his dad happy."

Tears started to slip down Julie's face and she gave Chet another squeeze, more for her sake than for his this time. "His Dad really did look happy to see him when I dropped him off at the house. Frank was really happy to be home again."

At last Chet managed to get into the shower and shave before getting dressed in a dress shirt and a pair of dress slacks. He, Julie and her father then had brunch instead of breakfast and then they all climbed in Carl's truck for the long drive to the county court house for whatever information would be added to what little they already knew.

Once they reached the first town on their way Carl took a detour and they found themselves parked across the street from a house that was totally gutted by fire, the roof caved in on one side as were all of the ceilings down to the ground floor.

"They're going to have to raise that and start all over again," Chet speculated.

"I think you're right," Carl agreed.

"How bad was he burned before they got him out of there?" Julie questioned.

"Maybe that information will be given at the court house," Carl tried to appease his daughter, "We best be on our way."

The rest of the trip Julie and Chet held hands and gave each other all the support they could.

Once they reached the court house Chet was again reminded just how unpopulated this area was. Instead of taking up most of a city block the court house here looked no bigger than a corner church.

Hand in hand Julie and Chet followed Carl Clark up the four steps into the building. Once through the door they found a group of six men and two women gathered together around some portable tables set up in a seating area at the end of the hall way just outside the one and only court room for the county. The two women sat in chairs behind the tables working with two portable typewriters as the six men were seen sorting pages into folders and labeling them.

Even though Chet and the two Clarks were early as soon as they were noticed one of the six men thumbed through files that had already been labeled and pulled three out before walking toward them and inviting them to sit.

"These are printed copies of the statements you've made." The man explained as he handed a file with their names written on it to each person. "Please read them over carefully and if they are correct sign them at the bottom."

For Carl Clark his folder contained five legal sized pages, representing five different contacts by investigators. One page was full of type written information, the other four only held a paragraph indicating that he had been asked a single question and had given a briefly worded answer. Carl read and signed those first before settling into his chair to study the full page.

Julie had only read the first paragraph on her three page document when she pointed out a spelling error in a medical term that Chet didn't understand. She was lead to one of the tables and one of the women typing there where she proceeded to find several more errors of similar nature. Her documents would have to be retyped and then signed. Chet sat in amazement at the speed in which the corrected statement was typed for Julie to sign. Since Julie had been standing over her shoulder while she typed she was able to sign it right away when it was done.

Chet would later learn that the statement she signed included a declaration that she was not pregnant nor had she ever engaged in any intimate activities with Frank or anyone else while Frank was in her custody. He would also learn that she submitted to a pregnancy test as proof.

The typed conversation Chet had to read over covered one and a half pages. After reading it once he marveled at how his acceptance of his role in this catastrophe had changed after his talk with Julie and her father. He still felt overwhelmed when he understood how the answer to what he considered and everyday normal question led to the death of his friend. He tried to think of the lives that information saved but he had never met them and they all felt fictional to him at the moment.

After reading through his statement once again Chet borrowed a pen and signed the paper before handing it back to the man that was patiently waiting for it.

As they waited for what would come next a police officer walked in and Julie's father greeted him by his first name, Kurt, as they shook hands.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am about what happened the other night," Kurt spoke while he was still shaking hands with Carl, but he was looking at Julie and his words seemed to be directed to her. "He had just dropped the second girl out when the ceiling came down on him. The stairs were already on fire and closed off, I just couldn't get to him. Not 'til the fire department got there with their ladders and got some water on things, but by then it was too late.

Julie nodded her head and then fighting with her emotions she asked the question she had asked her father earlier. "How bad was his body burned before you got him out?"

Kurt was able to take a deep breath and it seemed to be a calming breath. "Not as bad as you'd think, the ceiling material on top of him actually protected him some, he had some burns on his feet and his legs but the state coroner said it was the smoke that killed him, he had a skull fracture that was pretty serious and might have killed him eventually but the smoke did the job first. I was assured that he never felt any pain."

Julie was fighting back her tears and so was Chet as he placed his arm around her in an offer of comfort. It was good to know that their friend hadn't suffered in his final moments.

In time a man and woman joined them but didn't say anything to those gathered, they each just read and signed their statement before sitting in a corner quietly. Next in was a man who was clearly staggering drunk and was escorted by a police officer who had to help hold him up. Chet was sure he was there for reasons other than they were and wondered that he wasn't in hand cuffs.

"Herb," Carl rose to his feet and offered a steadying hand with one hand and an outstretched hand to shake with his other. "We're very sorry for your loss. All of us out to the ranch greatly admired your son. He really was a good boy."

The man addressed as Herb, didn't respond with more than a glance with an unfocused eye in Carl and then Julie's direction before he was guided to a chair and helped to sit down. It was explained to Chet in whispers that he was Frank's father and that he was taking the death of his son rather hard. Chet watched as the officer escorting him kicked a waist basket closer to the man.

They were just being motioned into the court room when another man came in. He was hesitant in his steps and remained back waiting to be the last one through the doors. As he waited Chet noticed his trembling hands and the number of times he ran his hands through his hair. He also noticed how neither Julie nor her father would look at him.

The doors to the room were just starting to close when the bailiff closing them stopped his actions to allow three more men in. These men were dressed in business suits the one in the lead looked to be sixty years old at least. One of the two other men that stood a step to the rear and a step to the side looked to be in his mid forties and the other late twenties or early thirties and all looked to be businessmen. They took a seat in the back of the room even though there were two rows of empty seats closer to the front.

"The Mayor and his councilors," Julie whispered in Chet's ear to identify the three men.

"Who's the real nervous one?" Chet whispered back.

"He's the local Fire Chief, you can tell just to look at him that he knows he blew it," Julie whispered back.

"Just remember he doesn't have nor can he afford to get the kind of training you had to have before they let you put on a fire helmet," Carl added in a whisper hoping to temper any judgment being made.

Chet had to admit that he didn't understand and turned his attention to the six men laying out all of the folders and the two inch thick one that was being placed in the middle of the rest. While the men who were setting out the folders were nicely dressed there was one that was wearing a three piece suit. This man started placing a finger on the name tab of each folder and one of the other men would point to someone in the seats. When the fingers were pointing at him Chet was curious enough and close enough to hear what was being said.

"He's the friend who's a firefighter with Los Angeles County."

The finely dressed man pointed to the largest of the folders to be told, "He's on the way, he was picked up this morning." The man then walked over near Chet, Julie and Carl Clark.

"I'm Perry Moles, I'm the District Attorney in this county. Thank you for coming today." He offered his hand for each person to shake before sitting down so that he could talk with them quietly.

"I know you were invited to attend a Grand Jury but we've been able to get enough evidence this morning that we're able to turn this into a preliminary hearing where we intend to file charges. Mr. Kelly, we will be referring to your testimony several times but unless the fact that you're here to back up your testimony doesn't get the confessions the state investigators require to finalize their reports, I will likely not be calling on you today." Mr. Moles turned his attention to Julie and her father. "It is not likely that we will need to hear from either of you two ether."

That was the moment when the court room doors opened once again and a man stumbled through. Once he was through the doors he stopped and turned around and looked at the two police officers that were behind him. There was an air of defiance in him as he held his ground until the police officer physically turned him and nudged him forward. Twice more he was nudged before a chair at the defendants table was pulled out and he was motioned to sit in it. He looked like he was going to refuse but then reluctantly sat as the two police officers took their stand behind him.

Seeing that everyone that was needed was present the bailiff called for everyone to rise as the judge entered through a back door. Once everyone except the two police officers standing guard over the one man in the defendant's chair sat down, Chet leaned over and whispered in Julie's ear.

"Who is he?"

Julie shook her head in the way of an answer as her father whispered back, "I have no idea."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The judge took a moment to look over some papers that were on his desk before directing his attention to the lone man at the defendant's table.

"Mr. Arnold Blake, would you please rise." The man reluctantly pushed himself to his feet and stood there with an annoyed look on his face.

"Is it true that you have chosen to represent yourself before this court of law?"

"I haven't done anything wrong and I have no intentions of spending hundreds of dollars for someone who has a fancy piece of paper framed on their wall to say that for me."

Everyone in the room looked at the man identified as Arnold Blake with wide eyes and open mouths, everyone that is except Herbert Dillon, he was slumped in the chair he had been placed in and it appeared as if he had finally passed out from whatever it was that he had imbibed in.

Chet slipped out of his chair and over to the man in order to check his pulse and breathing. As he did so he wondered what kind of father he really was and what Frank's life had been like when he wasn't staying out at the ranch.

While Chet checked on Frank's father, the judge preceded to inform Mr. Blake of the legal risks of his choice to not obtain a lawyer, making sure that he understood that there would be no undoing whatever decisions were made at this pretrial hearing on the basis that he did not have adequate representation. He also included the fact that due to Mr. Blake's substantial liquid assets that he wouldn't qualify for a court appointed attorney.

The man just responded with, "I haven't done anything wrong and I refused to waste my good hard earned money to pay someone else to say that for me."

The District Attorney sitting at his assigned table just shook his head and mumbled to no one in particular. "This is going to be easier than I thought."

The first person called to the witness stand was Russell Lowell, the Fire Chief of Silverton the second largest town in the county. He was asked several questions about Frank's participation with the local volunteer fire department, the simple fact that Frank had been asked over the years to watch several fire spots after the fire had been put out, in truth to get him to go away and leave them alone, but it showed a precedence that it was reasonable to believe that Frank would believe it was his assignment with the department to do just that. Even though Frank was not on the ledgers as a member of the department, there were multiple witnesses that had signed affidavits testifying that Frank was told in public that he was a member of the fire department team and was honored as such at dinners and picnics. As a result of the Chief's confessions to putting Frank to work in reloading the hose and washing the engine whenever he could, it was determined that Frank was legally a member of the fire team and deserved to be honored as such in his death. In other words the state required liability and workers compensation insurance was to pay for his funeral expenses that would include full honors due firefighters in that state, and his family was entitled to the mandatory life insurance paid to any volunteer fire fighter who lost his life in the act of fighting a fire. The Mayor in the back rose to his feet to offer an objection but the District Attorney was quick to offer to put the police officer who was with Frank at the time of his death on the stand to tell the details of the young man's heroic actions. The Mayor admitted defeat and simply sat down.

It was easy to see the feelings of victory on the face of one of the men who had been assigned to the investigations team. Chet noticed a similar feeling of righteous satisfaction welling up inside of himself as well and also a great amount of appreciation for the man that saw to it that Frank got the honor and recognition that he deserved.

Before the fire chief was released from the stand he was questioned about the number of calls his department responds to. He admitted to being suspicious about the sudden increase in the number of house fires starting about two years ago and produced reports filled out during the eight years of his leadership to show that there had been seven such house fires in the last two years compared to one in the previous six years. His reports included a report on five of the house fires given from the insurance adjustor that shared his findings to say that all five of those fires were caused by faulty electrical wiring.

"Now how is it that you were able to obtain a copy of the report from all five of these fires?"

"This is a rather sparsely populated region. All five of these homeowners had homeowners insurance with the same insurance company and I just happen to be the insurance agent that sold them the policy."

"So you sell homeowner's insurance policies in addition to being the Fire Chief?"

"Yes sir, I also write up auto insurance policies, but the homeowner policies are often included in the deal to give the customers a discount, neither job pays enough to support my family but every little bit on the side helps."

"Now, do you get bonuses when a house you've signed up for insurance burns down?"

"No sir, quit the opposite. I've been investigated by the company twice in the last two years and they're now insisting on one of their inspectors evaluating each home when I write up a new policy before the policy is in force."

"How long has that been for?" the District Attorney questioned and Chet was growing more and more interested in the information coming forth.

"Um, the last five months."

"Do you only write insurance policies in Silverton?"

"No, I have several clients in Middleton, as well as Greenville, Minersfield and on several of the farms and ranches in the area. I'm the only insurance agent in the area; there just isn't enough business to make it worthwhile for another agent to set up in these parts. There are a few folks that have policies from another company but they have to travel one hundred and fifty miles to find an agent to work with. Most folks will just come to me. Most of the people that don't have policies with me either travel regularly or have family members up north that recommended the person they're with as a good agent."

"Well that explains why five out of seven house fires fell under your policies. Were any of those homes ones that were inspected when the policy was started?"

"Yes, two of the last three in Silverton one in Middleton and the last two in Minersfield."

"So these fires are happening in areas other than just Silverton where you live, isn't that right?"

"Yes sir, I don't know a lot of details about the fires in other towns. My fire trucks did respond to the house just outside of Greenville when it went up but things were pretty well over before we got there. We just helped clean up the brush fire that was started when sparks from the house set off the sage brush on the other side of the fence.

"Have you been able to find anything in common among these fires other than the belief that they were all electrical in origin?"

"NO sir."

"Have you thought about calling in a professional inspector to determine if there was anything suspicious about these fires?"

"Yes, sir, I've made two formal requests. Unless there in a fatality, I have to get approval from the city council before I can call in anyone from the state to investigate."

The District Attorney produced two forms that had been filled out, dated and a copy submitted to the City Council as evidence to back up the Fire Chief. "What was the result of these requests?"

"Both times the Mayor declined the expense of bringing in an investigator. All of the fires so far have been in older homes in the area and had been deemed to be electrical in nature. He didn't see anything sinister or surprising. He said that's why people buy homeowner's insurance and that they're all getting newer and better homes out of the deal and that is raising the property values in the area."

"That almost sounds like your Mayor could be a suspect in these fires," The District Attorney joked.

There were more than a few eyes that turned to look at the Mayor in question as he sat in the back looking very insulted by the insinuation that was made."

The next person called to the stand was the police officer, Kurt Marshal, who had coaxed Frank into his patrol car the night of the last fire.

He talked first about the unnerving number of house fires that had been happening during the last two years as well as his frustration with the Mayor for not calling in investigators. Then the questions turned to his experiences with Frank Dillon.

"How long have you known Frank Dillon?

"All of my life. I've always seen him walking the streets, going here and there; he spent a lot of time in the stores down town. When I was younger he was a little on the mean side, but he went away for a while and when he came back he was nicer. After that, my mom and her friends were often asking each other if he was on drugs of some kind, but someone said that he had been taught how to make friends. He did seem to be a lot happier after that."

"Do you know where he was sent when he went away?"

"No, I never heard."

"How long have you been in law enforcement in this town?"

"Five years next March."

"What has your dealings with Frank Dillon been like during the last five years?"

"He's really no problem although I've had to interfere with other kids, usually high school kids, teasing and tormenting him but there have been no complaints of him causing problems. It's not uncommon to see him out wandering about late at night. I won't say it's every night but I'd say three or four times a month. I would always pick him up and offer him a ride home. Sometimes he seemed worried about something. I never really understood what the big deal was most of the time. Now I wonder if I just didn't listen well enough. Frank had a wicked stutter and you really had to listen hard and patiently to understand what he was saying. I'm afraid that there were a lot of times I just, well, sorta tuned him out."

"Were there any times when the circumstances surrounding Frank being found wandering at night caused you suspicions?"

"You always get a little suspicious when you see the same person wandering around late at night but there were only a few times when I found anything to act on. The first one was just a couple of months after I started working for the police department. It was about the second or third time I'd picked him up late at night and taken him home. He had a black eye and when I asked him how it happened he wouldn't talk to me; usually he was always talking when I took him home but not that time. When I pulled up at his house he wasn't in a hurry to get out and go inside. That was the first time I walked him up to the house and actually knocked on the door to talk to his father. Frank tried to stop me saying I'd make his father mad for waking him up but when there was no answer I tried the door and found it unlocked so I looked in and found the place a bit of a mess and his father stretched out on the sofa. After checking the guy out it was clear he was just soused, I mean totally passed out drunk."

"What did you do next?"

"I called the lead officer requesting back up and instructions. He lived just down the street so he was there in a few minutes and told me to take Frank to the hospital to be looked at and he'd deal with his father."

"What happened next?"

"Well Herbert Dillon had a health condition that made it unsafe to lock him up in the jail and being drunk in your own home is not really illegal, so the captain had one of his friends stay with him until he slept it off and Frank was allowed to sleep in one of the beds in the hospital. They put him in the room that doc sometimes uses when he had a bad one in the hospital or is just too tired to drive home."

"Was that all that happened?"

"Yeah, well they started an investigation into possible abuse but there wasn't enough evidence to prove anything and Frank would never say that his father hit him. From then on I was instructed to always take Frank to the door and if his father didn't come to the door or was inebriated I was to take him to the hospital where they'd keep him for the night and Social Services would follow up in the morning."

Chet listened to the testimony being given but his eyes were on the man sleeping at the end of their row of chairs. There was no response from him because he had been sleeping through the whole thing. Somehow Chet wondered why he'd never heard of anyone in his condition being in a court room before but in the end he just figured that things must be a little different in a small town.

"Were there any other times you suspected that his father may be abusing him?"

"About a month after the first time, I picked him up and he had a bruise on his cheek. His dad wasn't home that night he had an older brother watching out for him while his father was out of town for some reason, I don't think we ever found out why."

"Was there ever a time when you were suspicious that Frank Dillon was doing anything other than just wandering late at night?"

The police officer let out a deep breath and his face cried of regret but he proceeded forward. "About a year ago, the officer from Minersfield and I were talking about the house fires that were happening. Because of his frequent late night wanderings Frank was a person of interest at that time but not for long. We started looking into dates when he had been picked up wandering and dates of the fires, the only ones that matched up was when there had been an earlier small fire at the house and Frank had been at the fire to help out but then if he's in town he always rolls with the fire department. There were only two of those on our records for the whole two years, except for the last two since he's been home but we've long ruled him out as a possible suspect. There was never any evidence that he was in Minersfield and since it is too far for him to walk there and he doesn't drive, that and several of the fires took place while Frank was visiting at the Clark Sheep Ranch to give his dad a break from him, it didn't take us more than a week to take him off of our list."

"Did you have anyone else on your list?"

"No individual persons but there were a few groups on our radar for a while but there was never enough evidence to even call them in and question them."

"Now, Frank Dillon was in the Los Angeles California area for the six months, did the fires stop while he was gone?"

"No, we had two in Silverton while he was gone, and there was one each in Greenville and Middleton and two in Minersfield."

"It sounds as if the frequency of fires has been increasing lately."

"Yes sir, we have definitely noticed that trend."

"Have you found any clues as to what is causing these fires?"

"We started collecting all of the insurance investigation reports for all of the houses that burned down."

"And?"

"Every last one of them was listed as an electrical fire. The reports included several small fires that the homeowner took care of with a fire extinguisher and never called the fire department; those two were reported to be electrical in nature. Everything looked like problems with old construction but we couldn't understand why they all started to catch fire now. I mean most of those homes were between thirty to fifty years old. There had to be something that was causing them to start burning down."

"And did you find anything?"

"Well not until the night Frank was killed. Before we saw the fire in the upper attic window Frank was telling me about how a really small fire could burn inside the walls or the ceiling until it got enough air to really ignite," the tears were starting to form in the police officer's eyes and his eyes were clearly seeing back in time. "When we saw the flash of flames through the window Frank just flew out of the car and across the street while I radioed it in. When I looked up again I couldn't see Frank but the front door was standing open. By the time I got across the street the wife and then the husband came through the door coughing from the smoke and the husband was carrying their son who was still wrapped up in the blankets from his bed. The father said that the 'dumb guy', I knew he was referring to Frank, anyway, he said that he'd just burst into their bedroom door and woke them up and before he could pull on a robe and step into his slippers and get into the hallway were the smoke was the thickest Frank was handing him his son and telling him to hurry and get out. The wife told them about the girls in the next bedroom and Frank just pushed her ahead of her husband telling them to get out and he'd get the girls before he ran off into their bedroom. The couple and their son had just gotten to the door and the husband handed his son over to his wife before turning to go back for his daughters but that was when fire and stuff fell onto the stairs. I was trying to pull him out telling him we would try and get to them through the windows when I heard glass shattering outside. We hurried out and noticed that Frank was clearing the broken glass around the window casing. By the time the husband and I were under the window Frank was holding one of the girls out the window, she was wrapped up in the blankets from her bed just like the boy had been and he just dropped her into my arms. It was all I could do to hand the girl to her father before Frank was ready to drop the next girl out of the window. The next thing I know I could see the roof falling down on him."

The officer lost all composure at that point and started to sob, the District Attorney stepped back to give him a moment but he also could be seen wiping his eyes. Then the police officer started to ramble through his tears. "I tried to get to him. Honest I tried."

"Counselor, do we need a recess?" the Judge questioned.

"I only have one more question for this witness your honor and then I'll be ready to make my closing statement."

The judge pulled a box of tissues from under his desk and handed them to the witness. "I think we should take a twenty minute break."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chet looked around the room and there wasn't a dry eye, except for maybe Mr. Blake in the defendant's chair. He looked rather horrified. Even Frank's father was now awake and sitting silently with tears running down his face unchecked. Julie had pulled a white handkerchief from her purse and was dabbing at her eyes as her makeup ran and dirtied the once white cloth. At her side her father pulled a red bandana from his pocket and dried his eyes before using a corner of it to blow his nose.

For his part Chet had been able to see every move Frank must have made as if it were through his own eyes. He could feel the smoke clogging his lungs as he pushed on to do his duty to find and save the lives of all of the people in that home. His heart filled with pride in his mentally handicapped friend who, like him, wanted nothing more in life than to be a fireman. Then the tears finally came as Chet realized his friend didn't have protective turn out clothes to protect him from the flames. No helmet to protect his head from falling debris, no air tank to protect him from the smoke, none of the standard firefighting gear that may have been able to save his life. Did Frank know he was giving up his life to save that family?

Chet had no idea what his friend knew at the time but he was sure that even if he had understood the great risk to his own life he'd have still done what he did. He'd have done everything in his power to save lives.

There was a line up to the men's room since nearly everyone that had been in that court room needed to wash their face and dry their eyes before they could return. Before the hearing was called to order once again several boxes of tissues were passed out among those present.

The Bailiff patiently called everyone back into the court room and, Silverton police officer Kurt Marshal was once again called to the witness stand.

"Remember you're still under oath," the judge warned Kurt.

"I will your honor and thank you for the moment to compose myself."

"You're entirely welcome."

"Officer Marshal," the District Attorney, stepped forward. "I understand that what you witnessed was extremely difficult but do you think you can pick up where you left off just after Frank Dillon was trapped inside the burning building after dropping two young girls into your arms."

"Yes, well I tried to get inside to help Frank to somehow get him out but I wasn't able to. At one point while I was inside trying to find a way up to the second floor something fell on my back and started my jacket on fire and I knew I had to get out or I was going to die myself. Lucky for me some of the firemen had seen the flames and came straight to the fire instead of going to the fire station one of those guys knocked me down and rolled me in the mud outside the house to put the flames out on the back of my coat."

A box that was under the prosecutors' table was kicked forward by one of the men sitting there and the District Attorney bent down to pull out the burnt jacket that Officer Kurt Marshal had been wearing that night.

"Dr. Frick drove to the fire in his car and started taking care of all of those who had been in the fire. He was laying some special bandages over my back when the firemen with their hoses and proper gear carried Frank out and lay him on the lawn. Doc left my side to go look at him but it was too late." There was somber silence but not the all out emotions that had brought about the call for a recess.

"You said earlier that you found a clue as to how these house fires were connected."

"Yeah, well I don't know if it's accurate to say found but umm… there wasn't room in the ambulance for all of us so my Captain took me in the police car and since I was deemed the worse injured that was still alive. Doc Frick came with us. On the way to the hospital we drove past the house that had a small electrical fire just six days before and I remembered that both houses had been bought by the same person, who then quickly fixed them up and resold them. Before they were sold they had signs in the window declaring they now had upgraded electrical wiring."

He paused and glanced at the lone man at the Defendant's table only to get a defiant stare back. "I was hurting and talking a lot to help me deal with the pain and I suggested that maybe there was a connection and a connection to all of the other house fires the last two years."

"Do you know what happened with that suggestion?"

"The Captain said he would check it out just before the Doc, gave me a shot of something that sort of knocked me for a loop."

"Do you know the results of that investigation?"

"No, I haven't been back to work yet, the burns on my back are still healing."

The District Attorney walked to his table with purpose and picked up the largest of the folders sitting there. "Would it interest you to know that of the fifteen home fires in this county, including those where the fire department was not called out, that all of those homes were purchased by a man using the name Arnold Blake, not a percentage of them but every last one of them. Each home was reported to have been remolded with fresh paint and carpeting and up graded electrical services. Yet there was no work permits taken out or registered for a single one of those homes, so therefore there was no inspection.

"Now, what about those homes that were required to pass an inspection in order to qualify for homeowners insurance? According to the assigned inspectors, there were three of them by the way, it is possible to hide improper improvements especially electrical wiring so that problems cannot be found without tearing out walls or climbing into attics and crawl spaces. Now of course the new owner of a remolded home doesn't want someone coming in and pulling the nice walls down just to look behind them so the inspectors required the name of the licensed electrician who performed the work.

"They were given the name of Blake A. Philips based in Colorado. Now this was an amazing coincidence that faulty electrical work was listed as responsible for one hundred percent of all home fires in this area for the last two years. It seemed a good idea to find out as much as we could about this electrical contractor.

"According to the state of Colorado, Blake A. Philips is wanted for falsifying work documents and performing faulty wiring in a two story office building that went up in flames before it was even completed. He's also wanted for insurance fraud and for skipping bail, let me see, just a little over two years ago. Furthermore, photographs issued with the warrant for his arrest tell us that at the very least Mr. Blake that Blake A. Philips is your identical twin, but I'm more inclined to believe that Blake A. Philips and Arnold Blake are the same person. Something I'm sure will be confirmed once we're able to compare the finger prints that were collected just a few hours ago with the ones that are on file in Colorado.

"Colorado also reports that as a result of the extremely questionable work done in their state the electrical contractor's license for Blake A. Philips was revoked at the time of his pre-trial hearing two years ago.

"We hereby file criminal charges against Arnold Blake, aka Blake A. Philips, aka Philip Arnold, for fraudulent representation of licensing, criminal negligence, and in the case of Frank Dillon, negligent homicide. You should be very grateful, Mr. Blake, because if it wasn't for the efforts of Frank Dillon you could very easily be facing five counts of negligent homicide instead of just one. And those are just the charges to begin with. Furthermore, since Mr. Blake as he has chosen to go by in this area has wired all of his liquid funds to the Dominican Republic and after evading our warrant was arrested at an airport two hundred miles away holding a series of one way plane tickets and a passport to the Dominican Republic in the name of Philip Arnold, we move that he be declared a flight risk and held without bail until his trial.

"At this time, Your Honor, we also ask that you declare an emergency so that the remaining 15 homes that Mr. Blake has remolded and sold be inspected for similar wiring issues that have caused so many homes to burn to the ground."

"According to earlier testimony it is extremely difficult to find this faulty wiring because it is hidden behind walls. How does your team intend to go about these inspections?"

"We have been able to establish a pattern, Your Honor. In all cases so far the defendant has added wiring for electrical stoves and electrical heating and in all cases inspected so far there are illegal splices that can be found in crawl spaces and attics. We will have to remove insulation that may be hiding these improper splices and if we don't find them the insulation can be replaced without causing structural damage. If this kind of faulty wiring is found, however, there will be no recourse but to condemn the home for the sake of the residents until all wiring is inspected and repaired."

The judge remained quiet for just a moment before turning his attention to the defendant. "Well, Mr. Blake, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I plead not guilty on all charges and I demand to be released without bail." The man at the defendant's table, whoever he really was, spoke with terrified defiance, as if he really believed he could just bluff his way out of the charges he was facing.

The judge shook his head in disgust, "Well that's not going to happen. You are ordered to be held in the county jail without bail until which time you are tried for all charges listed. These are very serious charges, Mr. Blake, or whoever you are. I strongly suggest that you spend some of your ill gotten money and hire a lawyer.

"As far as your emergency inspections, I'll grant your request, but please be mindful of the residents. We'll work with them on a case by case basis for emergency housing. I don't want any more deaths over this."

"This court is dismissed until which time as the trial is scheduled."

Mr. Blake was pulled to his feet and his hands were pulled behind him as hand cuffs were placed on him and he was led from the room. The judge stood without waiting for the formalities of having everyone in the courtroom to rise and he slipped out his back door and into his chambers.

The courtroom remained numb as a rumble of quiet talking ensued. Slowly, and one by one or in small groups, people moved into the outer hall. The answers they came for had been given but it didn't make them happy, nor did it make their friend any less dead.

Carl Clark stopped to help Herb to his feet and asked if he had a ride home. Remembering he was brought by a police officer Carl offered to give him a ride when he didn't answer.

Carl stepped forward and took a hold of Herb's arm. He was slightly more sober now but he was still a little unsteady on his feet. Chet silently stepped forward and took a hold of his other arm and helped him along. Before they reached the door of the court room one of the investigations team approached with an outstretched hand.

"Sir, your son was a true hero and it is my privilege to see to it that he is honored as such." He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to Herb Dillon. "I'll be arranging for full honors to be extended to your son during his funeral services and I've already requested that he be fast approved for the Governors' Award of Valor to be presented posthumously before his burial. Do you know when you are planning to have his funeral?"

"Mon, Monday, his, my other two children, Frank's brother and sister are driving in to help with the arrangements; they should be here today sometime." Herb's tears were very close to the surface but controlled as he accepted several business cards from the man standing before him.

"I would like to meet with you and your other children tonight and discuss what we can do to honor your son as he should be. Would 7 p.m. tonight be acceptable?"

Herb gave a numb nod of his head and then started to move forward.

In the outer hall the Mayor of Silverton and his councilmen were discussing the recommendations that they provide training and updated the equipment for their fire department.

"Now that they've got the guy that's been causing the problem we don't need to do that anymore," the Mayor declared in his loud deep voice as if he were making a campaign speech.

"But there is still the chance that they'll have a house fire even after they fix the mess this, this whoever he is, caused," the youngest of the councilmen argued.

"That's why people need smoke detectors and homeowner's insurance. Look at the situation now. Those whose homes burned to the ground are the lucky ones; they have or will get new homes built by their insurance companies and be better off than before. Those that they're going to go in and condemn will end up footing the bill to fix their homes themselves, either that or the taxpayers will because that crime lord has sent his money out of the country and it's for darn sure no one here is going to get any of it. After they tear the house up and fix what that guy did wrong they're still going to have an old, not up to code house to live in. And after what happened here today they'll have a devil of a time selling the place for the money they've put into it."

"We should still try and give our firemen more to work with," the younger councilman continued to argue.

"I've been around here longer than you have and let me tell you how it always goes. Whenever we pay for any kind of training, the men take the training and then move away to better paying jobs and we're left to replace them with untrained firemen again."

Chet listened in on the conversation taking place and had an idea, but he did have to ask one major question.

"Excuse me for a minute," Chet asked as he released his hold on Frank's unsteady father.

Walking up to the District Attorney, Chet hesitantly got his attention. "Excuse me, sir," the man turned to face him with a look that said go ahead even though he said nothing. "Could I please ask a quick question?"

"Sure you may ask but you have to understand I will be unable to defend you in any trial."

"That's what I need to make sure of, that I won't need to be defended or that my department back home won't in any way be held liable if what I want to do doesn't work out one hundred percent."

"I'm not sure I follow you there."

"Well, I'm a full time firefighter back in Los Angeles County and I'll be in the area here for a few days. I was thinking I could, well, at least try and teach the firemen here a few things while I'm here but I can't in all consciousness put my department back in LA in any position of liability if I'm not able to teach them everything they might need to know in a given situation or if they were to get hurt doing what I do teach them how to do."

"Ah, now I understand. To answer your question the fire department has immunity from being able to be sued. It's the only way they can function in such a small community base as we have in this area. Since you're only here for a day or two it is more than reasonable that you won't be able to teach them all that you've learned in the years you've been on the job and let's say you could, which we just agreed was impossible, well I'm sure we only have a fraction of the firefighting equipment that you use everyday you're on the job back home."

"That's for sure," Chet agreed.

"As long as you don't charge an exorbitant price for this training, which I know you won't because old penny pincher over there won't pay it and the men themselves can't afford to pay for it, there will be no liability for either you or your department."

Chet let out a deep breath then directed his next question to all of the men gathered in that section of the hall. "Does anyone know who I'd need to contact to set something like that up?"

"I guess that would be me," Russell Lowell stepped forward with a slight raise of his hand. "That is if you're planning to teach the firemen in Silverton."

"Would you by any chance consider opening up your class to other firemen within the county?" The District Attorney proposed. "I know that you couldn't handle all of the firemen in the county but what if we gathered the top three or four from each individual department and got them together, would that be acceptable to you?"

"Sure," Chet was feeling a little bit of excitement and fear and responsibility. "I was wondering, the house where Frank was killed, I looked at it earlier and I suspect it will have to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up, is that correct?"

"Yes," one of the inspection team spoke with emphasis.

"I was wondering if there would be a chance of using the house as a training ground before it's torn down."

"We need a couple more days to photo document some of the code violations as evidence for the trial but we should be done in a day or so. If we did this the day after the funeral, that would work as long as we have the owner's permission."

"I know the guy, I'll talk to him but I'm sure he won't mind, he just might want to join us in the training," Russell offered up again.

"There's one more thing," Chet realized he didn't have his car available to him. "I don't have any transportation with me I'll need someone to give me a ride into town."

"I'll take care of that," Julie was quick to offer.

"I'd like to attend too, if I may," Carl Clark requested. "When it comes to stopping a range fire in its tracks I'm second to none but a structure fire is a whole different story. It just so happens that I have a few structures out there on the ranch."

"Well then I guess that makes you the leader of the firefighting crew at the Clark Ranch then," the District Attorney smiled at Carl and Chet suspected they knew each other on a friendly basis. "Of course you'll be welcomed to attend. I'll take care of getting the word out, Russ there will take care of getting permission to use the training ground and would it be alright if we used your engine so that we don't have to take the others that far from their homes."

"Sure," Russ agreed and everyone went their way. The deal was done and not even a handshake.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chet returned to offer a steadying hand to Herb Dillon and he and Carl Clark walked the man to Carl's crew cab truck. After helping Herb into the back seat Carl handed the keys over to Julie and climbed in the back seat with his inebriated friend.

The drive back to Silverton was heart wrenching as they listened to a sobbing Herb Dillon's laments. "I should have been a better father. Frank was such a good boy. He tried so hard to make everyone happy. I wish I could have taken all those parenting classes when he was younger. I never understood how to be the father he needed all these years."

Carl just rubbed his back and encouraged him to let it out. Chet and Julie stayed totally silent in the front seat not able to say anything and wondering if they should be turning on the car radio or something.

When Julie pulled over in front of Herb's house there was a car in the drive way and another parked on the street. As Chet and Carl were helping Herb out of the truck the door opened and a woman of about thirty, and a man about the same age give or take five years walked out to greet their father and to take over for those helping him in the house.

"There will be a representative from the state department of benefits coming by at seven tonight to help plan your brother's funeral," Carl informed the two people taking hold of their father as if to push the rest out of the way. Chet noticed a coolness to Carl's voice but he was trying to be polite.

"They're going to give him full honors." Herb was still emotional but spoke with pride.

"Full honors, full honors for what?" the man spoke with annoyance in his voice.

"Frank was a hero, they're going to give him an award," Herb spoke again.

"Come on, Dad, let's get you to bed and let you sleep it off," the man spoke dismissing his father's words.

Carl handed over one of the business cards of the man that would be by later and Frank's sister took it, Chet would later learn her name was Sandy.

"Look," Frank's brother responded in a voice laced with anger, "I know you're all excited about my poor defective, brain damaged brother. I learned to tie my shoes, too, and no one threw me a party and gave me awards for doing it." The man turned his back on the people who had delivered his father and headed inside.

Carl just stood at the end of the sidewalk shaking his head. "That Herb Jr. is a real piece of work."

"Julie, would you drive me over to that pay phone next to the railroad station?" Carl asked as he looked at a second business card in his hands. "I want to give this guy a call and fill him in on what he has waitin' for him."

While Julie's father stood in the one and only phone booth in town talking, Chet silently remembered the police officer reporting that the second time he took Frank home with a bruise on his face that his father was out of town and his brother was staying at the house. Without voicing his thoughts Chet was sure his brother inflicted as many injuries on Frank as did his father. As much as he missed his friend Chet felt a hint of peace in knowing that no one could hurt him anymore.

Carl somberly climbed back in the truck, "Alright, Julie, take us home. I gave the guy a bunch of phone numbers of people that I know will help out but I'm pretty sure they're going to be calling out to the ranch, too."

Julie then drove back through town to another road leading west and the drive to the ranch started out quiet but once they drove past a road with a sign indicating there was a geothermal research center down the lane, Carl started to talk.

"That research center, the feed processing plant and that meat packing plant and dairy in Minersfield is what contributed to the increase in house fires." Carl spoke but his words weren't directed to anyone in particular. "All those construction and factory workers, scientists and such moving into the area, needing a place for them and their families to live. That Blake guy just waltzed in here and picked up those homes for a song because they were built for wood burning stoves and heated with old sooty coal furnaces. Then he does shoddy work and turns around and sells 'em for three, four times what he paid for them. And then to think he just tried to declare himself not guilty and demand to be released." Carl shook his head. "No doubt he was just going to go back to that airport and skip the country, never to be heard of again."

No one in the truck said anything, they were all feeling pretty much the same way.

Once back at the ranch Carl easily convinced Julie to go see if she and Chet could catch some fish for dinner and watched them walk off hand in hand each holding a fishing pole. He himself dealt with some ranch business then sat to mourn the loss of a special young man.

Wanting someone to talk to, Carl headed toward the retention pond only to see Julie sitting between Chet's legs her back against his chest with his arms around her. They both had their hooks in the water but it was clear they were doing some serious talking between the two of them. Not wanting to interfere, Carl walked back to the house and pulled out his phone book.

Emily Stanley was pleasant to talk to but she was clearly in the middle of fixing dinner for her family. She did however give him the information he really needed, that Henry was on duty and the phone number for the station.

Captain Henry 'Hank' Stanley was at his desk sorting through his finished paperwork before putting each page in the proper file folder when the phone rang.

"Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51 Captain Stanley speaking."

"It's a good thing I'm not calling in a house fire because the place would be burned to the ground before you get that spiel out so they can tell you why they called." Carl added a chuckle to his words.

"Chief Clark, It's good to hear from you." Hank sat down on the corner of his desk, lowering his voice. "I've had some big wigs from arson investigation down here talking to me this morning. Is there any truth that they suspect Frank started the fire that killed him?"

Carl let out a deep sigh, he had no idea how far the investigation had reached out. "I guess the local law enforcement considered him a person of interest in the increasing number of house fires about a year ago. It only took them a few days to rule him out but since there was a fatality they finally had to call in the state investigation team to look into all the fires here. They left no stones unturned including the brief investigation into Frank's nocturnal wanderings. They completely ruled him out of any responsibility in any of the fires this afternoon. The Fire Department's insurance is going to pay for the funeral and he'll be buried Monday with full honors. The offer of letting you all stay in the bunk house still stands if you and your boys want to come out."

"In the end it proved to be a real crook that slipped into the area buying up old rundown homes that no one had lived in for years then after performing some shoddy repair work and illegal electrical upgrades sold them to the first unsuspecting buyer at boomtown prices. The police caught him at an airport holding one way tickets out of the country in some fake name. Now he's holed up in a jail cell without bail until after his trial."

"That's good to hear," Hank responded. "As far as me and my 'boys'," Hank smirked at the recognized term of endearment, "we'll need to talk it over a little and then I can get back to you in the morning if that will be alright."

"Sure, sure." Carl leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. "I guess I just needed someone to talk to 'bout all this mess."

"Well I'm glad you called, I know at least some of my men want to come to the funeral if they can work it around their schedule and it just so happens Monday is in the middle of a three day off shift for them, but we'll have to talk about it. As far as someone to talk to I'll be glad to but you do have to understand that if you hear a loud noise in the back ground I won't have time to say a proper good bye before I have to run."

Carl laughed, "Understood, life's a whole lot different there that it was back when we worked the range fires."

"That it is," Hank shared his laugh and instant memories. "Is my lineman behaving himself out there?" he started the conversation phase.

Carl was able to tell his former underling of Chet's presumed guilt and how he and his daughter were nearly inseparable. Before going into more detail about what happened in the fire that claimed Frank's life. They then talked more of the good old days and Henry's wife and kids and Carl's kids and grandchildren before the call of dinner being ready.

"Well those two just brought in enough fish for the next week I guess I better let you go eat your grub so I can cook these things up the way I like them. If I let Julie do it they'll be all healthy and everything but they won't taste as good."

"Just don't send any home with Chet," Hank ordered…ah, pleaded…before he said good-bye and hung up the phone.

Hank sat at the table in the day room and while dinner was served he told his men the details of their friend's death.

"You mean to tell me that guy you all took to the open house is mentally handicapped?" Chet's replacement was dumbfounded and shocked.

"Yeah," Cap offered.

"We knew he wasn't a candidate for the academy," Johnny cut in, "but it was a chance of a life time for him to be in and around and use the equipment." Johnny smiled then sobered, "I tried to talk Chet out of it but now I'm glad he didn't listen to me."

There was more talk about that day and how Frank had surprised even them mingled in with talk of attending the funeral.

After the evening talks with their families, Roy and Johnny planned to go and take JoAnne's station wagon offering a seat to anyone else that wanted to go. All five of the regular shift mates opted to go. Chet was already there.

When he got home the next morning Hank called his old Line Chief and confirmed the bunk house.

-0-

Back at the ranch Julie had been called and asked to give the eulogy at the funeral. She accepted, managing to keep the tears running down her face from her voice. Chet was asked to speak on his time with Frank and talk about how he loved firefighting and learning about it. Chet also accepted.

When Chet had trouble sleeping that night he completed the task of cleaning out Frank's closet. The laundry hamper and laundry basket with Frank's name on them proved to be adequate boxing to place all of the clothes. It really only took him an hour to get everything taken care of. The firefighting print pajamas were on the top, Chet planned to take one pair as a memento of his friend, he thought he'd offer John and Roy the other two pair.

Chet was awake early and sitting on the balcony when he saw Julie come out and head for the barn. He was quick to join her and helped gather the eggs before learning how to 'operate the fresh milk dispenser'.

Julie laughed as if it was the first time she'd heard Chet refer to the cows as such and laughed more when he proved to be all thumbs when it came to milking the cows.

After eating breakfast and cleaning up after, Chet and Julie spent some silent time sitting next to the fireplace writing their talks for the funeral. Carl had been asked to offer up one of the prayers for the service and felt no need to prepare in fact he felt that any pre prayer preparations was wrong to do. In the afternoon Julie gave Chet a tour of the main ranch area and introduced him to some of the ranch hands. They were both glad that the rest of Chet's platoon would be joining them for the funeral and made a trip to a nearby chicken farm to make sure they had enough eggs and bacon on hand to feed them all.

Chet laughed at hearing the eggs referred to as cackle berries, and marveled at the quantity of meat and produce Julie purchased and loaded into the truck. But then again since they did have to travel over eighty miles to get the stuff, he did understand.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next couple of days at the ranch were spent getting ready for the guests that would be coming. In the evenings Chet and Julie were found snuggled together near a crackling fire looking over the Clark family photo albums and Chet was amazed at how many of the photos included Frank and how young he was when he first started appearing in those photos. When he asked why Julie explained.

"My mom had a teaching certificate, she didn't work except for substituting from time to time because she was needed by my father to help run the ranch, that and she believed in being a full time mother. I'm not sure how it started but when I was about six, Frank and his mother moved out here on the ranch for a while. They were here for about four months. I wasn't told why or anything but I knew that while I was in school my mom was working to help Frank learn, and then when I got home my mom helped me play with Frank so we could teach him how to make friends. It was a lot like you described how things went between you and Mark at the training center only we kept a table between us.

My mom started by teaching him how to hold baby lambs and then baby chickens. When we were alone Mom explained to me that he didn't have anyone to show him how to be a friend at his house and that he had been kicking people because that was how he was treated. Then his dad started coming out here and some other people and us kids were expected to be somewhere else while they talked. I snuck under the window once to listen in on what was being said, and they were talking about how his dad had to start punishing Frank's brother when he kicked him. Anyway after a few of these meetings Frank and his mom moved home again but Frank came out here regularly to work with my mom. Mom thought she had him reading once but then a week later she heard him telling the same story to one of the lambs while he was feeding it."

"He memorized the story, he wasn't reading it." Chet understood he knew that Frank couldn't read but he had watched him tell stories to some of the newer residents at the training center that were frightened at being away from home.

"After his mom died he came here for a while, just until Herb Jr. got off to his army boot camp. Sandy was married by then, she and her husband lived about four hours north of here. There was talk of her taking Frank and getting him into some kind of center up there but I knew it was just wishful thinking on the part of someone. Sandy didn't want anything to do with Frank any more than her brother did.

When Carl couldn't hear talking in the living room any longer he went to see why. He found Chet and Julie curled up together on the floor in front of the dying embers of the fire. Feeling a draft he picked up a blanket from the back of the chair and went to cover them up but then thought better of it. He managed to wake Julie without waking Chet. Julie was sent to her room to sleep then the blanket was draped over Chet.

-0-

Back in L.A. the crew of Station 51 A shift arrived to work with their dress uniforms and a change of clothes packed in garment bags. There was somberness with all of them but they were glad that they were going to be able to attend the funeral of the young man they had grown to admire.

They were nearly all in uniform when Cap slipped into the locker room. "Guys, I just got a notice from headquarters. Even though Frank Dillon was not a member of the county fire department they recognize that he was a friend to each of us and we have been given special permission to fly the flag here at the station at half mast if we would like."

All five of the men rose to their feet and turned surprised attention to their Captain.

"Just our station?" John asked.

Hank made headquarters' position clear to his men. "The other stations can if they want to but none of them knew Frank."

"Let's do it." Roy spoke with determination. "At least I know I'll feel better if we do something to honor that kid."

Mike, Marco and Chet's replacement each gave a nod of their heads as they squared their shoulders.

Hank led the way and the rest of the crew followed him as they made their way to the flag pole in front of the station. As they all lined up to salute the flag the preceding crew fell in line behind them. The ceremony was silent and short but they all lingered for a moment to watch the flag fly at half mast in honor of their fallen friend.

-0-

Back at the Ranch Chet was finally getting the hang of operating the 'Fresh Milk Dispensers'; he actually milked a cow all by himself, while Julie milked the other three. After the morning chores were done Julie helped her father tidy up the house for the family members who would be coming in for the funeral and Chet spit shined the bunk house to pass his Captain's inspection. His clothes and dress uniform were hung in Frank's closet and before he was done the sock monkey was placed in the top bunk of the bank of bunk beds where Frank slept. The top bunk because Chet knew Frank would never be afraid or insecure again. As his eyes grew moist he knew that Frank was once again with his mother and he honestly believed that the brain damage, that Chet now knew happened as complications during his birth and had left him challenged throughout his life, was now a thing of the past.

-0-

The morning shift change was taking place and the remaining five men of A shift were changing their clothes and loading the DeSoto station wagon. Hank was stuck finishing the shift's paperwork but managed to send word by the next shifts Engineer asking the rest of his men to get his dress uniform and his change of clothes out of his locker and he'd just climb in the car as soon as he was done with the paperwork. Before Hank returned to his paperwork he found Hookraider at his side filling all the required forms in with the standard information in order to speed Hank's departure. All Hank could do was give him a smile of gratitude as he moved on to add the information specific to his shift and the last run that they had. In moments he was running for the back parking lot to climb in the car so that they could leave. He was still in his uniform but he knew they'd have to stop somewhere along the way for gas so he'd just change then.

The five men were positioning themselves to allow for the greatest amount of comfort and the best possible accommodation of long legs when a Chief's car pulled into the parking lot and parked in a way to prevent Roy from pulling out.

Hank, having had one leg in the car and trying to fold the rest of his body into a seat, straightened up once again and started to move toward McConnike who was getting out of his car and moving toward the back. Hank met him and was handed a potted tree with a bow around the base and a card declaring that it was from the Los Angeles County fire Department.

"We were hoping you wouldn't mind taking this with you. In all of our efforts we've been unable to find a floral shop in the vicinity. We thought this tree might travel better than the standard floral arrangement and we also hoped that it might turn into a lasting memorial for somebody back there."

Hank accepted the potted tree and turned his attention to the back of Roy's wife's station wagon trying to determine where best to put it when McConnike went back into his back seat and pulled out a decoratively padded binder.

"These are photographs of Mr. Dillon taken during the open house along with a copy of the offer of employment. We thought his family would like to have copies."

Hank noticed a lump in his throat making his voice slightly higher pitched as he tried to respond. "We'll see to it that they receive them."

McConnike understood and just gave Hank a slap to his shoulder as Roy got out from behind the steering wheel and moved to the back to make room for the additional items. While the additional items were placed in the car in a way to protect them Chief McConnike moved his car and once the men were seated they were on their way. Once they pulled around the station and prepared to pull onto the road they all froze in their seat and pause to watch the next shift saluting the flag at half mast. Something they didn't expect Hookraider's crew to do. After wiping their eyes they were on their way; they had a six hour drive ahead of them.

It was four hours into their drive before they stopped for something to eat giving Cap a chance to change out of his uniform and someone else a chance to take the wheel.

Johnny and Roy started discussing how to get to the ranch and Hank talked them into pulling over at the state line letting him drive the last leg of the way. Memory lane took him back to the day when a nine year old girl worshiped the ground he walked on to the point that she couldn't say a word to him. She'd grown up to be quite a young lady now and from what his old line Chief was telling him had finally set her eyes on someone else.

-0-

Back at the ranch Julie was getting nervous and emotional in anticipation of her part in the funeral the next day. She needed a distraction and she was sure Chet did too. After hearing some news from one of the ranch hands Julie asked for a couple of horses to be saddled and helped coach Chet into the saddle of the gentlest horse on the ranch while she mounted a larger slightly more spirited mount. Tagging along was an older Sheep dog that had listened to Julie crying herself to sleep every night since she returned from Los Angeles.

After nearly an hour on horseback the horses were tied to a tree and Julie led Chet between the boulders of a rocky hill. There they looked down on a herd of wild horses and watched as they moved around and fed on the leftovers of the sheep who had long been moved to their winter grazing grounds. Huddling in each other's arms they watched the young colts romping and running around but responding to the call of a parent.

Reluctantly they figured it was time to head back to the ranch to greet the rest of Chet's crew and to get ready for the viewing that evening. At the bottom of the hill Chet and Julie stepped between two large boulders to see Chet's mount far into the distance and from where they were it looked like the sheep dog 'Tippy' had the leads in his mouth dragging the horse off.

After looking at Chet with a puzzled expression Julie started to laugh and then without any explanation she cried. Chet held her in his arms until she was settled down a little and then she was able to assure him that there was no problem because the other horse could carry both of them.

At the ranch house Carl senior had been drawn out of the house to greet his oldest son and his family. After some somber back slapping hugs with his son and daughter-in-law, Carl tossed his grandchildren into the air and gave them a hug before he looked up to see Tippy leading a horse up to the corral and then stand there waiting for someone to open the gate for him to lead the horse inside.

Carl sent his son and his family into the house and then went to inspect the horse. As he walked across the compound a ranch hand opened the gate and took over with the horse only to meet Carl at the fence when he got there. "That's the horse we saddled for Julie's friend."

"Is he hurt at all?"

"Not that I can see. Do you want me to go looking for them?"

Carl climbed up on the fence to get a better look in the area he was sure his daughter had gone to. Seeing the small speck of a horse and rider way off in the distance Carl was comforted by the casual speed in which the horse was moving toward the compound.

"No, they're coming and it looks like Julie has everything under control as usual."

Carl then moved to greet his daughter and her family only to find that she had brought a guest to meet her sister.

Carl rolled his eyes and Beth just ignored him as she guided the guest to the guest house on the ranch. Carl's attention was then turned to an unfamiliar station wagon kicking up dust as it drove up the lane.

Carl was standing in the middle of the space between the main house and the corral when the station wagon drove close enough for him to recognize the man behind the wheel. Directing him to a spot closer to the bunk house he met the car before all of the men were able to climb out and stretch their road weary legs.

He was greeting his next guests when his attention was drawn to the horse with two riders coming into the compound. Julie was in the front controlling the reins easily with one hand and she held onto the hands that were around her waist with the other. Boy was her sister in for a surprise.

The men waved at Chet and Chet returned their wave as they made their way toward the corral.

"Excuse me for a moment," Carl left his old friend and walked over to help the green horn fireman slide off the back of the horse.

"Did you come off the horse?" Carl questioned as he looked the fireman over and watched him move.

"No." Chet responded, feeling that Carl was a friend by now. "You're not going to believe this but while Julie and I were watching the wild horses…"

"You're right I wouldn't believe it, that is if I hadn't have seen Tippy dragging the horse back to the barn." Carl laughed as Julie dismounted and tied the horse to a rail before turning toward her father.

Turning her back to the horse was just the invitation it was waiting for to nudge her with its nose in her back pushing her into Chet's arms as Tippy appeared from nowhere to jump at Chet's back and push him in Julie's direction.

Carl scolded the dog and sent him off to the dog house only to laugh when the dog was well on his way. "Match makers, match makers," Carl mumbled with a chuckling shake of his head, silently he looked at Chet and thought, 'at least the dog's got it right.'

"Chet, before I forget I got a call a while ago asking if you would be willing to lead the color guard at the cemetery tomorrow?"

The weight of feelings he and Julie had tried to escape were back as Chet squared his shoulders without a moment's hesitation. "It would be an honor, sir."

"I'll go give the guy a call then and let him know he can count on you."

The three of them walked over to the rest of the platoon as they greeted with handshakes and studying glances.

"The men putting this funeral together are looking for a color guard. Chet here just agreed to take the lead, would it be alright if I volunteered the rest of you to help him out?"

The response was a combination of head nods, yeses and it will be an honor before Hank spoke for all. "We will be honored."

Well then I'll let Chet here show you where you'll be sleeping and I'll go make a phone call. Once you're settled in come on over to the house and I'll introduce you around, Carl is getting ready to drop some turkeys into a deep fryer.

"Which one?" Julie questioned bringing a smirk from Carl, Sr. Chet and Hank.

"Your brother," Carl answered. "Oh, and your sister brought someone for you to meet."

Julie's eye's rolled and you could see the growl on her face. "Is his name Roy?"

"I think so," Carl acknowledged glancing at Chet out of the corner of his eye.

"Well I'm going to go take care of the horses." Julie turned and stomped off. There wasn't a person there that couldn't tell she was more than a little unhappy.

Carl called after his daughter. "Take your time. Just remember we'll have to leave in a couple of hours if we're going to make it to the viewing."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Chet offered to help carry luggage but was only given the binder of photos. Hank thought he might like a chance to look them over before they were given to the family. The garment bags were carried up the stairs and hung together in a single closet as the men looked around and started to stake out their bunks for the night. Mike and Marco were eyeing the stack of bunk beds where a sock monkey rested on the top bunk but it was Johnny that spoke softly after shaking his head. "Those are Frank's bunks."

They quickly understood and moved to the other end of the bunk room. A glass of water was taken with them on the way to the main house to give the tree a drink and Hank stepped next to Chet with a compassionate hand on his shoulder as he asked how he was doing.

"I'm fine, Cap," Chet reported in a solemn tone and with one look into his eyes Hank could tell he was about half right.

Once at the house the men were led to a back yard where there was a rocked in pit about twelve feet across and a foot deep. In the pit were four propane tank powered cookers with tall bubbling pots on them. To one side of the cookers were several stacks of black pots with handles and hot coals under and between them. Everything smelled great as two groups of people came together for introductions.

"Henry, bring your boys over and meet the family, or at least part of them," Hank's old friend called out. "This here is my oldest son Carl. My son-in-law Carl," he pointed to the next man, "my other son-in-law Carl is home with his wife since she's been put down in bed with some complications to her current pregnancy." Turning his attention to the shorter ones, "This is my grandson Carl, and my other grandson Carl, the other grandson Carl is the one we're trying to keep from being born for another two or three months."

Hank shared a respectful giggle as the rest of the grandchildren and his daughter were introduced before his daughter introduced her guest. The man's name was Roy Hampton and he was reportedly in real estate, another strike against him.

Hank then introduced his crew making sure to point out the three that had been there before when an accident had left them stranded and injured. Beth was the one that questioned if Henry was the one who had spent a summer working on the ranch with a suspicious glare and she was confirmed.

"Where's Julie?" Beth inquired.

"Avoidin' you," Father Carl didn't pull any punches as he shifted his eyes to the unwanted guest. Lowering his voice to a whisper and for Beth's ears only, "It is rather tacky to use the funeral of someone your sister cared about as a set up opportunity."

Beth just gave an intolerable sigh and proceeded to make an excuse for her sister's absence.

The rapidly cooling late afternoon air pushed everyone inside as a large fire was started in the fireplace.

Sooner than any of the firefighters suspected cooked turkeys were being carried into the house to be carved and soon Dutch ovens were being placed on the brick hearth a few at a time as everyone was given a paper plate and told to dig in. There were hot rolls, potatoes with bacon, mixed vegetables and a fruit cobbler in the black pots and once one was emptied another was brought in from outside to take its place.

Hank was heard to say, "If you think this is impressive you should be around during sheep shearing time."

Julie managed to slip in unnoticed, and tried her best to stay away from her sister and the mystery man her brother-in-law was talking with. It didn't work.

"Julie, dear!" was heard above all of the dinner chatter as Beth hurried across two rooms to take a hold of her sister by her arm and begin to drag her over to meet this new friend of hers. Chet looked on wondering if he should try to interfere as Julie's father responded to a ringing telephone.

Chet watched as Julie exchanged a pleasant hand shake before responding to the welcome call, "Julie, phone for you."

Julie hurried to the phone and Chet watched her hold the phone to one ear and her hand against the other ear to block out the background chatter. When that didn't work she stepped into a closet behind the staircase and working the cord under the door closed it on herself. No one would hear her say, "Whoever you are, this phone call couldn't have been better timed if we had planned it."

Julie remained in the closet for several minutes as her sister Beth moved in to recapture her once she was finished with her call and Chet moved in from another direction to rescue her.

When the door opened and Julie stepped out Beth got to her first. Julie just held her ground and gave her sister a look that meant all business. "What is it with you and setting me up?"

"Julie, dear," Beth spoke with a sickeningly sweet voice, "we all know that meeting men is a little out of your league. You really need to seriously think of settling down, why you're already nearly a spinster."

Julie's eyes narrowed in on her sister. "So what is it about this guy that makes him so great? Anything other than his first name? Is he even single?"

"Well, of course he's single. What kind of a sister do you think I am?"

"A pushy one who can't keep her nose out of anyone else's business, especially mine. And if that guy's single he hasn't been for very long, not if the tan line on his finger is any evidence."

"Now, Julie, it's not like it seems. His last wife just didn't understand him; she only married him for his money."

"Well I can guarantee you that I won't understand him either and the last thing I'm interested in is a man with money. That's usually their first and only real love and I really don't want to get into that kind of competition."

"Well honestly, Julie, you're being way too picky. Why at your age you're running out of options, you need to start grabbing at the few you have."

"Are you trying to say that men like him are the only ones that will have me?"

Beth didn't answer, finding the right words impossible to come by.

"Well if men like him, that I'm totally miserable being around, are my only options in life, I'd rather stay single." Julie then squared her shoulders and spoke sternly but keeping her voice at a volume low enough that not everyone on the room could hear.

"He's your friend, you brought him, you can be the one to entertain him. I've got friends of my own and other things to do."

Julie then stepped into her comfort zone and was soon surrounded by firemen, only one of which had heard every word she had spoken to her sister. Julie didn't eat much before looking at her watch and declaring that she needed to get ready and heeding her plans, the six firemen complimented their cooks, thanked their host and made their way back to the bunk house for quick showers and to get into their dress uniforms.

As buttons were being buttoned and ties being tied, the men inspected each other, offering a dusting of the shoulders and backsides of the uniforms. Black bands were somberly placed around their badges before they were pinned on their suit coats and after shoes were once more dusted the men stood and let out their last weak sounding emotional sigh before they marched with command in their feet back to the parking area to find out who was leading the way into town.

Carl pulled up in a large passenger van, a little scraped up from hauling men through heavy brush for years, but it was clean and had enough seats for all six firemen, Julie, her father Carl, her brother Carl and her sister Beth. All of the in-laws and the children would remain behind, and thankfully so did Roy Hampton.

The ride was long and the firemen from Los Angeles County were amazed at the wide open spaces and no lights. They sat quietly holding their dress hats in their laps listening as Carl Jr. and his sister Beth shared memories of Frank over the years. It was revealed that Frank had killed a couple of chickens in his first attempts to learn how to hold them and be gentle. This surprised most in the van. Chet just remembered his experiences with Mark. Julie was in the front passenger seat, she was wearing a lovely black dress and shawl and was seen toying with a white handkerchief as she frequently let out a long slow breath.

When they finally drove into town Marco and Mike were again surprised by how small the town was and how fast they were able to go from one edge of town to the other where the church was located.

They arrived at the same time as the hearse and the men climbed out of the van and waited respectfully in the cold night air as the casket was moved in and situated before they moved into the warmed building. There was already a line started as the firemen were stopped to hand over the potted tree. Before the men would make their way to the grieving family, the line would end up snaking throughout the halls of the church building, out of the building and down the block. Julie stayed close to her father's side as Chet remained in his standard station lineup behind his captain, followed by Mike, Roy, Johnny then himself followed by Marco. He was grateful that his crewmates were there but he hated being so far away from Julie.

They each signed the guest book in the hall and Chet made sure to get a copy of the program available. It was clear to him by the number of programs that were sitting by the guest book that Frank's family hadn't expected the kind of turn out they were getting. There was no seeing the end of the line but police officers, who also wore a black band on their badges, were giving regular reports. The firemen from California felt as if they were in a fishbowl with the way other's in the line watched them. Some were seen having their place in line saved as they left only to return wearing a pair of coveralls sporting their EMT patches and area logos. Chet, Roy and Johnny smirked ever so slightly as they remembered the inner competition among the local first responder trained personnel. Nurse Brown was noticed some distance back in the line and Johnny immediately bristled as the thought of talking with her again. A door opened and Doc Frick slipped in with a large floral display bearing a banner that read 'Friend to All'. He was led to the head of the line where the flowers were finally taken from his hands and placed on a pedestal that was squeezed in among all of the other flowers. He then paused behind those in line and looked into the casket over the tops of those in front of him. He was clearly emotional but under control and he mumbled something that none of the firemen could hear and then was on his way. He was heard telling someone on his way back out that he had a patient in labor he needed to get back to.

Captain Stanley had reached Frank's father, as was confirmed by a nod from Chet, at the same time Julie and her father stepped up to the casket. Hank extended the photo album to Frank's father. "Here are some pictures from the time your son spent with us; we thought you would like to have them."

The man looked shocked to see someone, let alone six someones, standing before him so dressed, with dignity and showing honor to his son. So did the son and daughter on either side of him. Each of the men behind him shook hands with the family members repeating, "We're sorry for you loss. Frank was a good friend. We're going to miss him."

Julie was holding her handkerchief to her face to catch the tears as she sobbed as quietly as she could manage. With her other hand she brushed a few hairs back in place and caressed Frank's lifeless cheek before taking a hold of his cold hands and giving them a squeeze. No one would realize how comforted she was that Frank's condition hadn't required a closed casket. Still it was hard to say good-bye. Her father placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close but let her have whatever time she needed. Frank had been just like a brother to her and she cared for him deeply. In the end, she fingered the metal hung around his neck before turning into her father's chest to be led away.

They paused in an out-of-the-way corner to wait for the rest of their group and Julie just held her arm around her father's waist and the handkerchief to her face as she kept her eyes locked on the man in the casket. The six firemen walked by the casket respectfully, Chet being the only one to reach in and hold his friend's hand one last time. "You did good, buddy, real good," he spoke softly. Then the six men took half a step back and snapped to attention before throwing their comrade a formal and respectful salute.

Eyes throughout the room were wide with wonder at what they were seeing, none more so than Frank's brother and sister as their father offered a tearful smile for the men.

Julie managed to dry her eyes as the men approached and when they were close enough, her first act was to take Chet by the hand and lead him off in a predetermined direction. "There's someone I want you to meet."

The rest of the men were directed to follow as they all worked their way single file through several bends in the lineup until they stood in the middle of a gym and Julie slowed just a little to let everyone come together near a family with three small children. For Chet, the first hint of just who they were was the bandaging on the face of one of the girls.

"I would like you to meet the Gomez family," Julie began her introduction.

Mr. Gomez was quick to step forward offering a hand to shake. "We're the family your friend gave his life to save." With controlled emotion in his voice he proceeded to shake the hands of all the men in the LA Fire Department uniform. "I tell you I had no idea what was happening when he burst into my bedroom yelling at me and my wife to wake up. The next thing I knew he was thrusting my son and all of his blankets into my arms and pushing me toward the stairs. We barely made it to the door before fire fell from the ceiling and set the stairs on fire. I thought we lost our two girls there for a while." Mr. Gomez placed his hands on his daughters' shoulders and pulled them both next to his hips. There was still trauma in their eyes as the father relived the ordeal And Chet knew once again in his career that they weren't lucky that their insurance would now build them a newer, up to code, home.

The young boy at his mother's side began to cry and Chet was quick to stoop down to try and talk to him.

"Are you alright?" The boy pulled tighter to his mother and nodded his head. "I was scared."

"I bet you were," Chet offered a calming smile. "Just try to remember that you're safe now and that you're going to be okay. You'll feel better in time when you get a new house."

"He was a really scary man," one of the girls spoke up. "But he was really nice, and he saved me even though I wasn't very nice to him."

"She stuck her tongue out at him," the other girl tattled on her sister, I just hid behind mommy." There was a pause as Chet smiled at the slight the girls had given to Frank. He knew they were new to the area and had only seen Frank in passing. The truth was that he was an adult, or at least he looked like one; that alone would be enough to frighten a child of this age.

"You're right when you said that Frank was really nice but make sure your mom and dad say it's okay before you talk to any grown-up that you don't know."

"Does that mean we're not supposed to talk to you?" the little boy asked in confusion. The area around them erupted with reserved laughter as the honest question.

"Not if your mom and dad tell you not to."

Another man pushed forward pulling his wife and two sons after him. "I'm Mel Harper." He extended his hand toward the men in polished uniforms. "It was my house Frank Dillon kept watch over all night just a week before the Gomez home burned down. I had no idea how close we were to suffering the same fate until that inspector explained it to us. I want to thank you all for teaching him the things that allowed him to save us."

"We didn't teach him all that much," Chet was quick to answer, seeing these people and these children still alive was a healing that he needed and Julie had known it. "Frank learned a lot right here in town, watching the firemen and helping them maintain their equipment. He already knew most everything before we met him."

The three families, one being a firefighting family came together and shook hands as several of the firefighters got down to be on face level with the children and talked. One of the boys was frightened because he thought he was now obligated to be a firefighter but didn't think he would ever be brave enough. "You just do whatever it is that you want to do and be the best person you can be," Chet admonished with a moist smile.

As others started gathering around the closest thing these people had seen to celebrities one snarling woman stepped up behind Julie and jabbed her in the back before talking to her just loud enough that the next person could hear and start the rumor mill through the crowd.

"So what are you going to do now that Frank is dead? You know no one is ever going to want to help you raise his illegitimate child."

That was enough for Chet to nearly shoot up to his full height and face the woman. "You really are a witch. You of all people know that Frank Dillon was not capable of fathering a child, I'm sure you also know that Julie submitted to a pregnancy test because of the rumors someone started, probably you, and that the test was negative."

Jessica Brown was instantly the recipient of multiple unhappy glares and very angry that her evil plan had just blown up in her face. Julie had always just kept quiet before and the evil rumors she had started had always blown over. This time someone stood up in her enemy's defense and she wasn't prepared for that.

Noticing that his son and daughter were waiting near an exit, Julie's father suggested they return to the ranch. On the drive home Hank asked his friend if he had a flag they could borrow. "I'd like to run through folding the flag at least once before tomorrow and make sure we all know our part."

While Hank followed his old friend and mentor to the house to get the requested flag, Julie quietly took a hold of Chet's hand and pulled him into the barn. Standing together in the most open part of the barn to protect Chet's dress uniform Julie turned to face him and held both of his hands with both of hers.

"There's something I really have to talk to you about, right now, before it's too late."

"Julie, what's wrong?"

Julie took a deep breath. "Not wrong, at least I hope not." Julie's hands trembled in Chet's as she nervously licked her lips. "That phone call I got tonight," she looked on for some sign that Chet remembered.

Chet gave her a questioning nod and she took another deep breath.

"It was a job offer. I was offered the job of head nurse for an Urgent Care clinic that's about to be opened up in Oakdale."

"Oakdale? Oakdale, California? The Oakdale that's just outside of Carson?"

Julie nervously nodded her head, unsure of what Chet's feelings were. For the next few moments there was silence as neither person knew what the other needed from them.

Finally Julie chewed on her lower lip and then spoke up. "I know this is probably the craziest question I could ever ask but I have to know. I told them yes and they want me out there next week to start setting the place up but I can call them back and tell them I've changed my mind if you want. I just have to hear you say that it's alright with you if I move back there to be close to you, because, Chester Kelly…I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Chet quickly grabbed Julie around the shoulders with both of his arms and pulled her tight as he locked his lips with hers in the most passionate kiss he could give. When he finally came up for air he swallowed hard and locked eyes with Julie.

"I love you too, and I'd love nothing more than to have you with me for the rest of my life. I'm sure my sister will let you be her roommate until we make things official and then I can use some of the money I've got saved up along with the money I got from that doctor that released me from the hospital when he shouldn't have, and, and, we can buy a little farm or something in Oakdale. There are a lot of them in that area; it's so green compared to here. I'll get you your very own Fresh Milk Dispenser and, well, we'll go from there."

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" Julie questioned, half excited, half scared to death.

"Not yet," Chet placed one hand over his lower face and toyed with his mustache as he held the other at the side of Julie's face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "There's one person I have to talk to first."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Hank returned from the main house with the borrowed flag in his hands. As he rounded the barn he saw a very emotional Chet and Julie step out of the barn.

Chet gave Julie a tight hug then responded to the sound of footsteps in the dirt and looked into Cap's eyes.

Chet was clearly closer to and more involved with Frank Dillon that Hank had realized. His friend had been right; he would need to get Chet alone and get him to open up and somehow convince him that he wasn't at fault for Frank's death. Hopefully he would start to unwind after the funeral and his part in it was over.

Hank hoped that he'd be able to talk Chet in to going home with the rest of them right after the funeral even though he still had another shift covered. In Hank's opinion he needed his friends now.

Chet's voice was understandably off when he responded to his Captain. "I'll be up there in just a few minutes; I need to walk Julie to the house."

If it hadn't have been growing dark Hank surely would have noticed the lipstick coloring the lineman's mustache as he walked by but he didn't so he was sure Chet was still reeling from the aftermath of his friend's death.

Chet proceeded to hold Julie tight to his side and offer her whatever body heat was getting through her shawl as they headed for the house.

"Have you told your father about the job offer yet?"

"No, I wanted, needed; to tell you first…Dad's probably in bed already. He has a shipment of salt lick and supplies that's scheduled to arrive around four in the morning. I'll tell him as soon as he unloads that."

Chet just nodded his head in understanding that he'd have to wait until morning to talk with Julie's father.

When they got to the house they heard Julie's sister talking, or rather giving out orders. "Now, brother dear, you need to keep those firemen," she spoke the word as if it were some social disease, "away from Julie whatever you have to do. I'm sure she'll grow to like Roy if she'll just give him a chance. And he'll be much more interested in her if she's not hanging around those smelly firefighters. If we don't do something right now she just might end up married to one of those low life public servants. Just think of what that will do to our family name."

Julie turned to Chet with embarrassment at her sister's words. Chet just smiled at her and brushed her tears away with his fingers.

"We can't choose our family members," he offered up in understanding. "Don't worry about it, I know how you feel about me and that's all that really matters." Chet placed a kiss on her forehead and led her into the house before allowing her to slip up to her room without engaging with her siblings and in-laws.

Chet quickly returned to the bunk house were his fellow public servants were waiting to run through their part at the cemetery the next day.

It had been a while since any of these men had been part of a color guard and they all felt the need to run through the flag folding once or twice as a refresher. The most difficult issue to deal with was the placement of people. This would be the first time they had all been together with Chet Kelly as the head. There wasn't anyone there that had any kind of a problem with this order but it did make it necessary to figure out where the rest of the men would be placed in the formation. All of this took just a few short minutes and as they worked it out they all noticed Chet's less than totally focused attention. Even though it was Chet's first time as the head he knew the commands. All of them did; this was something they did with honor, to show honor and it ment a lot to each of them for reasons that were unique to each of them.

They ran through folding the flag three times before they felt their movements were as crisp and professional as they should be then Kelly recited the words used to present the flag three times before he felt his words met his satisfaction.

Five very tired firemen then prepared to call it a night, each commenting that this was similar to sleeping at the station but they were sure they wouldn't be called out on a fire or anything before morning. It was Cap that set his travel alarm clock and informed everyone that breakfast would be served at 7:30 sharp and that they could expect to be well fed.

Five men climbed into their chosen bunks and the lights were turned off except for a night light to point out the door to the bathroom for sleepy persons in a strange place. One man continued to shuffle with a few things before sitting on his bunk and thinking hard, letting out several quiet but noticeable sighs.

"You alright there Chet?" Cap called out in the darkness but when Chet looked around he noticed all eyes on him.

"Yeah, I um, I just need to find my copy of the talk I'm giving at the funeral tomorrow. I can't seem to find it; I thought I left it right here on the night stand."

"I moved it under the phone book after the breeze caused by us moving our things around blew it under one of the bunks," Roy called out from his bunk.

Chet was able to feel around in the darkness and find the papers. Counting the pages in the dark, he sighed.

"Thank you, I'm just going to slip this in the inside pocket of my dress uniform." Chet got up and slipped into the closet, closing the door behind him and turning on the light there. John and Roy each gave a sorrowful smile at the memory of Frank in that very closet. They had already discovered that it was the only one with a light inside.

They all watched until Chet returned to his bed and since he was aware that they were all watching him Chet did climb under the covers and lay as quietly as he possibly could. However he did not go to sleep, but fought to keep his breathing slow and even for the sake of all those he knew were watching him. His mind however was going at full speed. What if Julie's father felt the same what her sister did? Was he good enough for Julie in his eyes? Of course he wasn't, no man is ever good enough for your daughter. Could the guy really say no when someone asked for his daughter's hand in marriage? Well now, all Chet had to do was think about the guy his daughter brought for her sister to meet this time and what he over heard about the men that had been brought for her to meet when her brother announced his engagement. He sure hoped the father had the right to say no. If it was his daughter, he'd want the right to say no.

Did he deserve Julie? That was a heavy question. He wanted her, he loved her but was he so selfish that he would come between her and her family?

Between her and her sister, yes, at least until she learned to accept Julie's wishes. But Julie truly loved and respected her father even if she acted otherwise from time to time. They were close, they didn't always agree but they could talk things over and accept to disagree. At least they did when it came to her accepting custodianship over Frank.

Did he meet with her father's approval? Was there something he could do to change things if he didn't?

In the next bunk Captain Stanley was also slow to get to sleep, he could tell that Chet was stressed but then he had every right to be. The death of a young man he had grown close to and speaking at his funeral, were very stressful. He had to somehow talk him into going back with them after the funeral so that he could have the support of his firefighting brothers to help him deal with everything and get his life in order again. He knew that he personally needed to spend some time with him and convince him that answering that boy's question in no way made him responsible for Frank's death.

Chet must have finally drifted off to sleep; in his sleep he drifted into a dream where he and his crew mates were standing before Chief Houts. There had been a lot of talk that was mumbled and indistinct then the high Chief pounded his gavel on his desk. 'Alright, everyone, since there seems to be an agreement The man previously known as Roy DeSoto will now be known as Chester Bernard Kelly, and the man previously known as Chester Bernard Kelly will for now on be known as Roy DeSoto. Unfortunately, parties named JoAnne DeSoto, Christopher DeSoto, and Jenifer DeSoto are outside the Los Angeles County Fire Department jurisdiction so the party now known as Chester Bernard Kelly may no longer claim, JoAnne DeSoto, Christopher DeSoto, and Jenifer DeSoto as his family.

This leaves the party now known as Roy DeSoto to be their legal and lawful responsible party and since according to this legal decision, Mr. DeSoto, you are already legally bound in marriage and you are therefore not available to take Miss Julie Clark as your legally wedded wife.

"But I don't want him to be my daddy he had hair on his face," the little blond girl stood on her chair to scream.

"I don't want him to be my dad; he's just a fireman he doesn't save people, my father is a paramedic," the boy next to her started yelling.

"Now wait a minute, I agreed to let him have my name but not everything else."

"You can't expect me to sleep with that, that, that…fur rug."

Chet's eyes finally flew open but he felt as if he had been trying to get them to do that for a while. As his breathing calmed down he felt grateful for the darkness and the complete knowledge that what he was opening his eyes from was a dream, a totally ridiculous dream.

When his breathing was finally down to normal Chet pulled the covers up to shield the light from his watch. It was two a.m. Julie's father would be getting up to accept that shipment in a couple of hours.

Chet looked around the room to make sure he hadn't shouted out in his sleep or something to wake everyone else up. No one moved so he carefully sat up and placed his feet on the ice cold floor. He managed to ever so quietly slip over and into the closet where his clothes were kept and turning on the light he was able to get dressed in the warmest clothes he had brought with him.

Pulling the extra blanket off of his bed as he walked by, Chet wrapped it around him and as silently as he could Chet made his way down to the kitchen and sat in a chair at the table where he could see the Clark house across the open area of the compound.

He was sure Julie's father wouldn't refuse him his daughter's hand in marriage just because his name wasn't Roy. Would he?

Chet sat at the table thinking of Julie's father standing in front of him as he mentally rehearsed how he would word his request for his daughter's hand in marriage. Was he supposed to get down on one knee to talk to her father? They don't show this part in the movies.

Sitting at the table, Chet was afraid to go back to bed for fear that he would fall asleep and miss Julie's dad getting up to accept the shipment. So there he sat, wrapped up in a blanket, thinking and rethinking every word he wanted to say 'til he had no idea what he was going to say.

Chet did manage to lay his head down on his arms and soon he felt a hand on his back, rubbing.

"You need to get some sleep there, pal. If you don't you'll be yawning." Cap continued to rub Chet's back. "Now this is something I would never do on the job but under the combined circumstances here I'm going to make a huge exception."

Chet felt his captain take a hold of his hand and place something inside of it. "Looking down he saw a mini bottle of whisky. "If you take it now it will help you get some sleep but you'll have slept it off before you have to give your speech at the funeral. We'll all make sure you don't do any driving."

Chet just couldn't believe what was happening. He blinked his eyes and rubbed them a little to make sure he wasn't just having another dream. That was the moment he noticed the light come on at the Clark house and knew Julie's dad was getting ready to accept his shipment.

Chet glanced at his watch and it was only a quarter to three in the morning. What was he supposed to do now? The only thing he was sure about was that he didn't want to be under the influence of anything when he talked to Julie's father.

Growing more and more nervous Chet noticed the door to the house across the way opening and a loan figure coming out pulling his coat tighter around him and walking slowly toward the barn.

Chet slipped the bottle in his pocket. "Cap, I think what I need right now is to go for a walk."

"Now! Chet, I know you've not spent a lot of time around here but it's cold out there this time of night. A lot colder than it gets in Southern California."

"I've been here for several days now, Cap," Chet whispered in an attempt to keep from waking anyone else. "I know how cold it gets. There's some heavy coats in the barn; I'll borrow one of those. I just need a little fresh air and if that doesn't work I'll take your advice. Just promise me you'll wake me up in time to get ready in the morning."

Before his caring captain could talk him out of it, Chet slipped into the frigid night air promising to be back in half an hour.

Carl Clark heard the footsteps on the stairs coming from the bunk house and waited to see who would step into the moonlight. He guessed one of two people and he was right, the only other person he would have expected was Henry. This time it was Chet and he was pretty sure the man needed to talk to him.

"You're going to freeze to death in that California jacket." Carl pulled him into the barn and tossed him one of the coats hanging on the wall. It was common to work up a sweat while mucking the barn and be in need of a dry coat so several older ones were kept there for that reason. Carl then moved to a bench in the barn in an area that was warmed by the body heat of the animals and patted the other end inviting Chet to join him.

"Looks like you're having difficulty sleeping tonight, too," Carl opened up the proverbial conversation floor.

"Kinda." Chet realized now that there was no time left for rehearsing, no second guessing and he couldn't remember what all he rehearsed any way.

"Mr. Clark, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Carl turned to the man sitting next to him with excited anticipation and a mournful sense of loss. "You've got my undivided attention, son, what's on your mind?"

"You know as well as I do that Julie makes up her own mind and pretty well does whatever she wants but my mother raised me to do things properly so I'm…" The words were trying to freeze in his mouth and freeze his mouth and vocal cords with them but he had to get it out. He'd deal with the aftermath later.

"I would like to ask your permission to ask Julie for her hand in marriage." There he said it, now what was Julie's father going to say.

Carl looked at Chet for a few minutes without saying a thing. Then he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees before sitting up straight and looking at Chet again.

"What if I were to say no?"

Author's note: My beta is in need of some time off for some medical reasons. Is there anyone out there who would be willing to help me finish this story? I'd appreciate it.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

He said it, Julie's father said no. No wait, he asked what if he said no? That was a question Chet needed to answer. Sometime during his night of planning he had even prepared to answer this question. Now what was it he planned to say?

"Well sir, I'm afraid mine and Julie's feelings are a little too deep for either of us to just walk away right now. I don't want to do anything to come between you and Julie I know that she loves you very much. But like I said earlier, we both know the decision is ultimately Julie's."

Carl looked at Chet then started chewing on his tongue, but it didn't help. The smile came through. "That's a good answer, and you're right, the decision is ultimately Julie's."

Chet sighed in relief but still remained just a little nervous.

"So this bit about asking my permission is just a formality then, is it?"

"Well, in a way I guess you're right, but isn't that the way it usually is?"

"Not necessarily," Carl giggled and shook his head. "I was working a range fire when the twins announced their engagement. I remember thinking that I'd only been gone a week; surely they could have waited for me. In the time between the engagement and the big double wedding the girls reveled that they didn't think I'd approve of their choices for mates. When it comes to Julie however, I've been asked for her hand in marriage more than I've bothered to count. The first time she was only thirteen. Some self important bully from the Middle East came out here trying to set up his own sheep ranch. Giving him my daughter was supposed to prevent him from running me out of business. He proceeded to import a bunch of fancy sheep over here, more than was wise for the grazing land he had, while I kept a super close eye on Julie. I literally kept her at my side every waking hour of the day and even slept on the floor outside her room for a while. I was terrified of that guy trying to kidnap her and I'd heard horror stories of how they treated their women. She didn't know about my sleeping arrangements but, the rest, she loved all the attention and learned enough to make her a pretty fair rancher. Some of my men called her the 'She Boss'. When spring time came he tried to beat me to market and sheered his sheep a month earlier than I did, then came the late winter snows that we always seem to get around here and he lost most of his flock to the late winter snow. Then there was a dry spell that summer and he lost a load of the rest of his flock to drought. Before winter snows fell the following year I bought what was left of his flock for pennies on the dollar when he decided to cut his losses and head back to where he came from.

"Every year since then I've had two or three guys ask for her hand in marriage, most of them were fall down drunk at the time and all I had to do was ask 'what if I say no' and that was the end of it.

"There have been three times I finally answered only if Julie agrees, and each time I knew without a doubt that she'd as soon spit in the guy's eye and brake his nose in response to them asking.

"After watching you two these last few days I suspect this time will be a different outcome."

Chet blushed and hung his head to hide his smile.

"Do you know why I couldn't sleep tonight?"

"Was it because of the funeral tomorrow?"

"NO, not the funeral. I'm sad about Frank and all but he did himself proud, it's been downright pleasurable to watch the look on Herb's face at the number of people who came out to show their respects for his poor defective son.

"No, what kept me from sleeping tonight was hearing Julie's sister, my own daughter, plot against you and cut you down with her words, and then to hear her gloat because she knew you'd heard her and she thought her mission was accomplished. Then to listen to Julie crying in the next room because of what was said."

"I thought I raised my children better than that. I'm sorry, not just that you heard what she had to say but because I failed to teach her to value and respect all people."

Chet shrugged his shoulders, "Like I told Julie last night, you don't get to choose your relatives."

"Julie always said she was holding out for a man, not just any guy. I must admit she seems to have found one."

"Julie doesn't know about it yet but the board of directors over the medical in this area has decided to let Nurse Jessica Brown go. Dr. Frick can't even trust her to carry out his instructions on all of the patients. They're planning to offer Julie the job. As proud as I am at all that she has accomplished, I'm now hoping that you will be able to take her away from here. She will never get the respect that she deserves as long as she lives in this area. There are a number of people who can't stand what she's made of herself and will stop at nothing to knock her off the pinnacle she's reached."

Chet once again bowed his head to hide his smile. "Sir, you need to talk to Julie, but I will say that won't be a problem. And I want you to know that you'll always be a welcomed guest in our home."

Carl glared at Chet. "I guess by that statement you think I'm going to give in and say yes."

Chet had his number by now and he just smiled back at him and said nothing,

"I've never seen my daughter happier or treated with more respect than since you've been around. You have my blessing, her sisters on the other hand…"

"I can deal with them," Chet assured.

Carl smiled. "I just bet you can."

The shipment arrived and Chet helped to move four hand trucks full of vaccinations and other such supplies into the locked room of the barn before Carl slapped him on the shoulder and sent him back to bed,."I think maybe both of us will be able to sleep better now."

Chet slipped into the bunk house very aware of his captain's watchful eye but it didn't matter anymore. There was nothing in the world that could bring him down. With a smile in his heart Chet slipped into his bed and was soon dreaming of Julie and all the happiness she brought to him.

In the next bunk Hank was sure Chet had given in and finished off the mini bottle but whatever it took to get him to sleep at this point he was happy for. Given the smile on his face he was definitely a happy drunk.

Back at the main house Carl took advantage of the opportunity to pull the covers around his daughter and tuck her in one last time before going to bed himself and finding a few moments of blissful sleep.

At 'O dark thirty', the time to get up to get breakfast ready in order to make the greatest use of daylight, Carl was up again. The gas griddles were already set up in the screened off patio and they just needed to be heated and oiled and the pancake batter needed to be mixed and the eggs cracked. Carl pulled the bacon and eggs out of the fridge and when he shut the door there was Julie, ready to take things from his arms.

Setting the flats of eggs out on the counter Julie found a big mixing bowl and started cracking eggs. "Did they get the omelet fixings cut up last night or do I still need to do that?"

Carl opened the fridge again and looked. "Looks like they're all ready to go along with the blueberries and chopped apple pieces for the pancakes. Do you think that will be enough variety for everyone?" Carl shut the fridge door and watched as Julie cracked two eggs in each hand until she had emptied one flat and then stopped a moment to count heads before moving to the next.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Julie continued to crack the eggs before adding water and starting to mix well.

"I missed you during sheep shearing last spring," Carl commented before getting his own mixing bowl and moving in next to Julie.

"Yeah, but if that training camp had been any later they wouldn't have gotten us trained in time for the fire season," Julie small talked as she beat the eggs.

"A little birdie said you have something to tell me." Carl started the conversation before turning to see Julie blushing at him as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Chet talked to you?"

"Yep, met me when I couldn't sleep and decided to go wait in the barn until the shipment arrived."

"And?" Julie started fishing for more information.

"He said you had something to tell me." Carl wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Yeah, well, that phone call I got last night?"

"The one you hid in the closet to take?"

"Yeah, well, I'd have done it any way to get away from Beth and her new friend. But um, it was a good thing because I really needed to hear what was said clearly. It was a job offer."

"A job offer here in this area?"

"No Dad." Julie cringed just a little, she knew it had been hard on her dad since her mother passed away, but there was no real hope of her finding happiness in this land that time forgot. "It's in a suburb area outside of Carson, California, a place called Oakdale, It's surrounded by a collection of small farm/ ranch type areas and well they don't have a hospital there but this company is putting in an Urgent Care Center."

"What's an Urgent Care Center?" Carl asked as he started mixing up the pancake batter.

"It's kind of like an Emergency room only it's geared for minor injuries. We won't be able to do surgery or anything like that but we can treat simple broken bones and illnesses and if they are bad enough that they need a hospital there's a fire station just across the street with paramedics who can take them into Carson."

Carl could tell that his daughter was excited about the job. He had also been able to tell that she was excited that one Mr. Kelly had talked to him.

"When I interviewed I was able to make some suggestions to increase their usage and then when they took me out to the construction site of the clinic there was an accident and I was able to get in and help extricate the workers that were trapped when the scaffolding came down. They said then that they were impressed that I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty. I guess they really were impressed because they offered me the head nurse position with administrative responsibilities. I'll be hiring some of my staff members."

"Well, I've always known that you weren't afraid to get your hands dirty or any other part of you for that matter. But this is the first time I've heard of that being a good thing in a clinic." Carl smiled. "I'll miss you around here but I know you'll be happier if you get away from here."

"I'll only be six hours away; you can come and visit me whenever you want." Julie offered the feeble apology but she knew, just as her father did, there were enough people in this area that wouldn't be happy with her being here and would do their best to make her miserable.

"I'm happy for you, Julie, and very, very proud of you. You better believe I'll be visiting from time to time. Don't intend to run this ranch forever you know."

-0-

In the bunk house Hank managed to wake up before his alarm and after shutting it off managed to wake each of his men except for Chet. "He didn't get to sleep until after four 'o clock this morning so let's let him be last in the shower," Hank whispered. The men were willing to comply.

Chet woke up just a few minutes later as his crew mates moved about quietly. Without saying a word he sat up stretched and then seeing his crewmates coming out of the shower he entered and quickly took care of business before stepping out and into his dress uniform once again, pausing only to make sure his papers were still in his pocket before he followed his Captain on the trek to the main house. One of the 'Grandsons Carl' let them in and they were greeted with the smell of cooking bacon and hash browns as well as what sounded suspiciously like a chick fight.

"First you tell me he's the only one that will have me and now you tell me that he won't have me if I cook. I'll make the stand I did yesterday, I'd rather remain single."

"Henry," the eldest of the Carls called from the dining room. "You remember how we do pancakes and omelets around here?"

"Sure do," Hank responded with a smile.

"Then I'll let you give instructions to your boys, I need to go referee." The next words they all heard were, "Beth, leave your sister alone, let her do what she's doing. Julie learned years ago that the shortest distance to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"But, Daddy…"

"Not another word out of you. Get your food, sit down and shut up."

Hank quickly explained the process of breakfast to his men. "Those smaller containers are full of stuff to put in your omelets, take one of those cups and fill it with whatever you like and give it to, well it looks like Julie is doing the omelets this morning. Those other containers are things to put in your pancakes. If you'd like, you fill another cup with that and hand it to the guy cooking pancakes. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Chet piped up. "Which Carl is it that's cooking pancakes?" Chet's answer was a glare from his captain.

The men were amazed at the skill Julie had with a spatula as she poured out the egg mixture and let it cook for just a few seconds before taking their cups and evenly sprinkling the contents on the top before folding the side of the cooking egg mixture over the top of the filling and then rolling it up in a nice package.

Julie was just finishing up the omelets for the firemen and her nephews when Roy Hampton was led into the house by Beth's husband. Without missing a beat Julie talked him through the process and threw his omelet together and on his plate. He had just sat down next to Beth and her family when there was a knock on the door.

Carl, the oldest one, took a quick head count. Everyone was there including his son Roy and his wife that has just driven in that morning.

Heading for the door he found the county sheriff and two other men wearing jackets labeled FBI.

The county sheriff beckoned him outside. "Carl, may I have a word with you?" Carl's conscience was totally innocent so he complied.

"I'm sorry to bother you but we got a wire this morning. The FBI is looking for a fugitive that is a real confidence man. He's currently going by the name of Roy Hampton and well, knowing your daughters obsession with men named Roy, and well, your ranch set up is the kind of business he's targeted before. I just thought it was worth a trip out here to check it out." One of the men labeled as FBI was holding up a picture and Carl was just nodding his head.

"Good guess, he's in the dining room."

The men split up one following Carl through the front door and the others going around the house to cover the back door.

"Curtis Applegate, we have a warrant for your arrest." Before the law enforcement officer could say what he was wanted for, the man known as Roy Hampton jumped from his chair and ran out the back door only to be tackled and placed in hand cuffs.

Everyone looked surprised at the happenings except Beth who was simply aghast. Julie just started giggling uncontrollably and the longer she laughed the louder she laughed until she was laughing so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. Chet was quickly at her side and easing her down to the floor before she collapsed. Roy and John were close behind, coaching her in her breathing and asking if there was a paper bag somewhere they could use.

Julie gasped and managed to whisper with a breathy voice. "Use one of Dad's cowboy boots; that'll do the trick." She then turned into Chet's shoulder and continued to giggle but she did get her breathing under control.

Author's note: When I took my EMT training the doctor who taught the section that included treating hyperventilation actually recommended a cowboy boot as the most effective tool for restoring normal breathing. I wrote it in my book and still laugh at it every time I read it. In fact sometimes I go looking for that book just to read those notes.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Julie finally managed to get her breathing under control but she didn't stop giggling. Her father finally returned from talking to the police that had been left behind while the criminal was taken to the county jail until his transfer could be arranged. Carl senior was quick to notice the two paramedics and a particularly protective fireman huddling around his daughter. She was now sitting cross legged on the floor with her hands cupped tightly over her mouth and nose to allow her to breath in the carbon dioxide she needed to regulate her breathing.

Carl glanced at his other daughter to see that she was still in shock but had also taken on a totally innocent approach. "How was I supposed to know that wasn't his real name? I don't know why Daddy let those policemen in here like that. Does he have any idea how humiliating something like this is to our family?" Beth was heard saying to her husband in a low voice.

Carl just glared at his older daughter and then turned his attention back to the one on the floor. The two paramedics stepped out of the way to allow the father in to check on his daughter. "I think she's going to be just fine she just laughed so hard that she hyperventilated herself a little but she's got it well in hand now."

Carl knelt down next to his daughter and opposite one Chet Kelly and placed a concerned fatherly hand on her shoulder. Julie just looked back and forth between the two men she loved most and she could read it in their eyes. Her Father approved of her choice in a man and her father's opinion was the only one that mattered to her.

Julie smiled and started to cry, then she started to giggle again to hide her tears.

"Hey, now, let's not start that up again," Chet chastised tenderly. "I don't want to have to go find one of your father's cowboy boots."

Julie smirked again and took hold of both her father's hand and one of Chet's with her own hands. Carl confirmed everything she already knew with a nod of his head and he and Chet helped Julie back to her feet.

"You better get your breakfast eaten," her father spoke with an all business tone to his voice.

"Yes, Daddy." She then walked around the grills to gather whatever unclaimed food looked good to her before defiantly choosing a seat at the table with the firemen instead of her sister's family. Her sister noticed and was quick to give Julie a look of disapproval. Julie just smiled back and started to eat.

Carl 'in Charge', had one more command to give before he sat down to his breakfast.

"Beth, you and your husband need to stop by the police station after the funeral, the FBI guys there need to know how you got involved with that 'Not a Roy' they just hauled out of here."

Julie started giggling again.

A short time later everyone was finished with their breakfast and a couple of ranch hands had been instructed to put the griddles away after everyone had left.

This time the trip into town required two vans. Julie would drive the one with all the firemen and the newlyweds, Roy Clark and Roy DeSoto were quick to renew their acquaintance as they got in. Carl would drive the one to be filled with his son and daughter-in-law and all of the grandchildren. His son wisely handed him some ear plugs before he got behind the wheel.

Beth and her husband Carl, would drive their car into town so that they wouldn't hold anyone else up with their required stop at the police station. That and also, no one else wanted to be around them right now.

Julie's van arrived first and the firemen were pleased to see a polished fire truck backed up to the church door. It was an antique model to them but Julie assured them it was in regular use in this area. Chet took just a moment to meet up with the local Fire Chief and get a look at the equipment they had at their disposal. It only took a minute; Chet had never seen such empty compartments before in his life. The firemen were then given a brief set of instructions and they all found a nice sunny spot to wait for a few moments.

The next van from the ranch pulled into the parking lot as the sound of '25 bottles of Seven-up on the wall' announced their arrival. As the van door was opened the kids all sang in unison, "Take one down and pass it around and 24 bottles of Seven-up on the wall."

"Alright you rowdy cowpokes, we'll have to finish off the rest of those bottles of Seven-up on the way back to the ranch. With all that you've drunk so far I'd recommend you all make a quick trip to the facilities first thing." Carls, both the father and the son, showed their skills in herding as the children were directed through the doors of the church. They even had to head one toddler off at the pass when he detoured to see the "FIRE TRUCK!"

Roy and his wife Julie wanted to take part in the last of the visitation before the casket was closed and most of the firemen found their way into the line once again. Throughout the building they noticed colored long sleeve t-shirts being worn by a large number of men in attendance. There were several different colors and when the men turned so that the backs of their shirts showed the firemen from California realized that the t-shirts were the uniform for this area. The white shirts were printed Silverton Fire Department, and each color bore another name.

Hank and his platoon had been informed that they would be following behind the fire truck to the cemetery right behind the six men that would serve as pall bearers and would lift the casket onto the back of the fire engine and then down again at the cemetery. The grab bar had been temporarily removed from the back of the engine to make that task easier.

They all laughed when they were asked if they were alright walking three quarters of a mile.

They had also been informed that there would be a luncheon back at the church after the graveside services and that they were expected to attend.

The rest of the firemen would fall in behind them in order of their local departments.

Chet's eyes misted over and he wasn't able to say much. He was so grateful that his friend was going to be so honored.

At last the men from Station 51, minus Chet, were led to the seating reserved for them. The chapel was already filled except for the few benches reserved for those taking part in the funeral. In the back a dividing curtain had been pulled open for additional seating in a basketball gym behind. That seating was rapidly filling up as well. All too soon they were asked to stand as hats were removed and the organ played while the casket was wheeled into the chapel followed by Frank's family and a few close friends, that included Julie, Chet and Carl Clark, Sr.

The family, Herb senior being supported on either side by his two children, and what was guessed to be the husband of Sandy and the wife of Herb Junior and one child of about eight years old, filed into the bench saved for them. Julie, Chet and Carl made their way to the chairs behind the pulpit and of the three of them Chet was clearly the most nervous.

Julie surprised a lot of people by maintaining total control as she told of Frank's life and accomplishments. Julie ended by telling all gathered that she thought of Frank as a brother who cared for all living things, whether man or beast, and wanted every living thing to feel cared for.

Chet slowly stepped up to the microphone and started by letting out a deep breath. "Back home I'm the one they're always telling to shut up." I don't think I've ever had this many people listening to me, however."

"The first time I met Frank he was indeed a friend in need. A couple of friends and I had just been in an auto accident and those of us in our vehicle faired pretty well but the other truck rolled a few times leaving it's driver in serious life threatening trouble. To make matters worse sparks from the trucks engine and gas from the ruptured gas tank heated up the situation a lot.

"Frank was one of three people who were in the first truck that came our way and I still remember the way he jumped out of the cab of that truck with a fire extinguisher in his hands ready to take on the fire. He did a wonderful job but that fire was too big for the two extinguishers to take care of and he soon came to those of us who were taking care of the injured looking for a shovel to go back and fight some more.

"We didn't have any shovels but we did need help to move the victims to the nearest hospital and we feared we wouldn't get help in time for one of them. Frank was put to work helping to load our two victims, one of which was a good friend of mine. Then, when we were met part way to the hospital with life saving supplies, Frank chose to go with the man who delivered them and help fight the fire we had had to leave burning. The next time we saw Frank he was sitting in the back of a bush buggy operating the fire hose like a seasoned pro. Then later that night after he and the team he was working with got the fire out, my friends and I had the privilege of sharing the bunk house at the Clark Ranch with him. I never want to forget how he looked when he came up to the bunk house that night. He was filthy, firefighting does that to ya', he was hungry, firefighting does that to you, too, but he was also happy. There wasn't a second that I didn't understand that he wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else in the world other than where he had been and doing want he had been doing. Yes, Frank was mentally handicapped but he was also a firefighter and proud of it. He cared for people, all people, even those that weren't particularly nice to him."

Chet proceeded to talk about the first time Frank came to his station and how he spent the tour telling them the difference between my truck and his back here. He talked about the multiple bowling outings they had together and how, as long as he didn't talk, no one could tell he was handicapped.

He talked about the apartment building fire across the street from the training center he was staying at and how he evacuated the building carrying one person out on his back. He talked of the honor that was his to be standing with the group that presented his award as a hero at that fire.

He talked of taking Frank to the firefighting tryouts, admitting that he knew Frank couldn't pass the written test for admittance to the academy but wanting to give him an opportunity he couldn't get back home.

"Frank surprised a lot of people that day, and even received a job offer to help out at the firefighting academy. But Frank's heart was here in Silverton, his home was with his father and the people here.

"As hard as it is to say good-bye to Frank Dillon, I know that the night he died he was just being true to himself. He was watching out for others and when he saw the need he did everything that he could to fill those needs. I don't think anyone really knows if Frank understood the sacrifice he was making that night but as I look at the family that he saved I know that he had no regrets.

"Frank was considered a wana'be, someone who wanted to be more than he was, but that never stopped him from trying and always giving his best effort. It is very appropriate for Frank Dillon to be honored this day as a Firefighter who fell in the service of his duty because that is truly how he lived and how he died."

At the end of the funeral the six firefighters who were to load the casket onto the hose bed of the fire engine stepped up to the casket while Chet slipped into his line up with her teammates. "You did good Chet," Hank whispered to his crewman and each of his teammates echoed those feelings as the men closest to him placed a hand on his shoulder.

Once the casket was situated the fire engine pulled ahead until it reached the end of the parking lot as men and women in various colored shirts fell in behind the firemen in dress uniforms.

Julie and her father were seen taking their place among those wearing khaki colored shirts and patches identifying them as wild land fire management. And Chet noticed the Chief leading one of the platoons was the same guy who had introduced himself as the District Attorney that day in court.

When the fire engine finally pulled out there were over a hundred firefighters, volunteer and career, lined up eight deep walking behind it. There had been career firemen who had less.

At the cemetery the casket was removed from the fire engine and carried to the final resting place. The final words and prayers were spoken and then Frank's friends from California stepped up next to the casket with precision, the flag that was draped over the casket was lifted and smartly folded, and Chet numbly tucked the last fold into place. With his white gloved hands he took the folded flag from his captain's hands and carried it as respectfully as he could until he stood in front of Frank's father. The words he had practiced were uttered in respect of his fallen friend and Chet was grateful with the manner in which the flag was accepted and pulled to the heart of the Father who had lost a son. There was a part of Chet that really wanted to present the flag to Julie for she had been the only guardian to Frank he had known but that was not the way of things.

Taps was played; the casket was lowered into the ground and covered with earth. Chet watched as flowers were placed over the closed grave and felt the cold breeze around his ears. Looking around, he noticed that the crowed had thinned out. A soft and tender hand slipped into his as he spotted the rest of his platoon waiting near the van that had brought them. Roy Clark was behind the wheel this time. It was time to return to the church for the luncheon and then the rest of the guys would need to start for home. They had to report for duty the next morning.

Author's Note: There are pies, rolls and other such stuff not to mention a Turkey to cook so the next chapter might be a day or two further down the road than usual. Won't be long now though, Chet has to be back on duty in four days doesn't leave much time to wrap things up at the ranch. All things at the ranch will be wrapped up before the end.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Julie and Chet walked hand in hand toward the van as Hank stood on the outside holding the door open for them. The person from the state who had taken on the preparations for the funeral had stepped up to Hank as soon as the graveside services were concluded and gave him an envelope of cash. It was the customary fee paid to defer travel costs for the color guard.

"I'm not sure it will cover all of your gas to get back home but still it's yours to help out."

"It was an honor for us to do this for our friend." Hank spoke with just a hint of emotions to his voice.

"It showed."

Julie was helped into the van and then Chet after her before Hank climbed in and shut the door. While on the drive back to the church Hank started his attempt to talk Chet into coming home with the rest of them. By the time they reached the church everyone in the van not only knew of the training exercise Chet had planned for the next day but they also knew that Hank was not happy about it. In fact their ears were ringing.

"But Cap, all of the liability issues have been taken care of. I even talked with a lawyer."

"I want to talk with this lawyer." Hank demanded.

"That shouldn't be a problem he's one of the fire chiefs, we can probably talk to him when we get back to the church."

"Fire Chief's, I thought you said he was a lawyer."

"He's both Cap. Trust me."

It just so happened that Perry Moles, the District Attorney/Fire Chief wasn't planning to stay for the luncheon, there was an understanding among the people in that area that the luncheon was meant for family and friends who had traveled far to attend the funeral and had yet to travel far. He was sure ten minutes away didn't qualify him for the luncheon. However he was just getting in his car when the van carrying Henry Stanley and Chester Kelly drove up so they did manage to catch him and talk with him. He was more than happy to supply Captain Stanley with the written releases that he wanted and even offered to Call LA County Headquarters to make sure the papers contained whatever information they would require. Hank gave him the phone number from memory and he promised to have them on the phone within the hour. Hank's argument was over and so was any chance to talking Kelly into going home with them.

"So how are you going to get home?" Hank questioned, half afraid his friend would get pressed into making a drive he didn't really need to.

"Um, well there's still a couple of details to work out but I'll be back in time for work shift after next, I promise."

While Chet and Captain Stanley were talking over details Julie found herself surrounded by the six people that made up the medical board of trustees. Like her father she had been hearing rumors and was pretty sure what they wanted to talk to her about but she was also sure that the confrontation between Miss Jessica Brown and one Chester B. Kelly at this very church the night before had made it necessary to move this meeting up. The town people had been slow to realize Jessica's vindictiveness and the lies she used to undermine Julie but more and more people had been able to see through those lies in the recent year and the number of people that didn't want her to be their nurse was growing exponentially

Julie was led to a corner table and a couple of the board member's spouses were instructed to deliver plates of food to everyone at the table while they began to talk.

Julie sat down and turned her attention to the man she knew would be the speaker for the group but didn't say a word.

"As I'm sure you have heard the rumors by now, Nurse Jessica Brown has fulfilled her contract associated with her educational scholarship and is to be released to pursue other opportunities."

The conversation paused as if to allow Julie to say something, she remained silent. The man doing the talking was one Larry Jackson, the father of Dirk Jackson whom was reportedly going to be released from prison in the near future.

"Well any way, now that you've finally completed your education, we'd like to offer the job to you." Papers were pulled out of a briefcase and pushed across the table to where Julie could look at them. Julie paid them the courtesy of straightening her posture and looking over the papers properly, lifting the top page and reading the second.

"As you can see we're prepared to offer you a wage that is very comparable to you current training."

"Actually this wage is what a two year graduate would have expected to earn six years ago when my mother was on the board of trustees." Julie finally spoke.

"Well yes, but in sight of you dropping out of school before completion and diverging in to such fields as range fire suppression and road side first aid we trustees wanted to give you a chance to prove that you've matured before we offer you the top salary."

Julie glanced at each person at the table including those who were standing guard around it with their backs to the table making sure no one interrupted them. Only Doctor Frick seemed to be displeased with what was being said and the two of them had talked about the position off and on since she returned from California. He had expressed a desire for her to run the Middleton clinic after Ozella retired. He even worked it out so that she covered for Ozella for three weeks while she took a long overdue vacation.

"Actually I ran the medical aid station for the state wild land fire suppression teams in this area; I was not in fire suppression. And as far as road side first aid that was just being a Good Samaritan but we saved a life and a leg if my information is correct. Both of those are listed on my resume and were talked about at length at my last job interview. They seemed quite impressed in the responsibilities of that position and how it showed my qualifications for a much more demanding position with more responsibility and a substantially higher salary. Your offer is quite frankly, an insult; I'm going to take the other offer I got and be glade of it." Julie stood up leaving the plate of food that had been placed before her untouched.

"And just where is this offer?"

Julie just looked at the main speaker and smiled but didn't say a word, turning to leave she paused and turned back. "I understand there have been a couple of trained nurses move into town lately with their husbands when they took positions at the new factory. Maybe one of them will show more of the maturity you're looking for."

"Wait just one minute!" was heard behind her but Julie didn't even pause in her escape. She went through the food line and gathered a modest plate of food before finding a seat next to Chet.

"What was that all about?" Chet gestured toward the group of people standing around their table looking at Julie, she didn't even look back.

"Nothing to get excited about they just offered me a job. I told them I wasn't interested."

Before then firemen surrounding them could swallow their food to ask the questions they wanted several ladies approached them carrying take along boxes of food. "We've been told that you men have a long drive tonight in order to get back to your homes. We don't want you starving on the way." A cute little lady who looked to be in her late sixties early seventies told the men. "We want to thank you so much for the way you honored our special little Frankie," Laura cringed, "He was just such a special angel sent to watch over us here in this little town."

"There's one of those Styrofoam ice chests in the back of the van to put those in. There's some ice in it but you'll be able to fill it up at the ranch before you head out." Carl Clark informed the firemen as they accepted their travel meals.

"They do this all the time?" Hank questioned.

"No, not always, but they were quite impressed with everything you did last night and while you were talking with the family that Frank saved they asked me what special thing they could do for you to show their appreciation."

A quick check of their meals showed them to be heavy on salads and a couple of lunch meat sandwiches for each man. All of which would need to be kept cold to prevent the men from getting food poisoning. Before they left to go back to the ranch Chet talked to a couple of firefighters for just a few minutes about the next day before hurrying to get in the van. He knew his friends had a long drive a head of them and he wanted to do his part to get them on their way before it started getting dark.

While Chet helped his teammates load the station wagon, Julie took on getting the ice chest filled with ice. Actually she put down two layers of frozen fish then a skiff of ice then their meals and some drinks followed by replacing the ice she dumped out. Carl pulled up with the gas truck and topped off the gas tank.

"Depending on the gas mileage you get that should get you boys to Vegas or there bouts."

Hank and Carl took hold in the rescue hold and patted each other on the shoulders with their other hand.

"Don't be such a stranger," Hank spoke as he watched his men say their good-bye's to Chet and Julie before climbing in the car.

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep an eye on him for me till he comes home. He didn't get to sleep last night til after 4 a.m. As hard as I tried I wasn't able to get him to talk to me."

Carl grinned one of those, 'I know something you don't know' kind of smiles that caught Hank's attention. "I wouldn't worry much about him. He's being well watched over. I'll ask you to help keep an eye on mine for me, seeing that she's accepted a job back in your neck of the woods."

"Oh really?" Hank turned and looked at Julie and was quick to notice Chet's arm around her shoulders as they talked with the rest of the crew.

"Yep, someplace called Oakdale, she tells me it's close to that Carson you all call home."

"Yeah, it is, in fact it's part of our extended response area."

"That close hum. Well I guess that means we should be seeing each other from time to time."

Hank looked at Chet once again and remembered the smile he had on his face when he finally got to sleep. Chet had handed him back the still unopened mini bottle of scotch as they were packing up their things.

"Why do I get the feeling that had a whole lot more to do with my man not going to sleep till the wee hours of the morning than morning the loss of his friend?"

"Beat's me why you would be having that feeling my friend." Carl answered with a twinkle in his eye and a cheesy grin. "But you'd be right. Looks like my girl had finally found someone who could turn her head just like you did all those years ago. Gotta admit she seems to be a better judge of character than her sister's do. All though I must admit my son-in-laws are growing on me." His attention was drawn to Beth and her husband returning from the police station.

"I can't believe you asked him to come along," Beth yelled at her husband across the hood of the car.

"Me, I'm the one that told you not to bring him. You know your sister is never going to talk to a guy you introduce her to ever again." her husband responded.

"Yeah, I think I'll keep the son-in-laws, the daughters well,,, we'll see."

Hank couldn't stop the smirk that escaped.

"Careful there now, your day is coming faster than you think,"

"Don't I know it," Hank agreed with the shake of his head.

Chet promised one more time that he would be home in time for his next shift as the firemen drove out of the compound and on the road heading west.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Carl had a few more hours to give his grandchildren horseback rides and Julie taught Chet a few tricks of cooking for a crowd before the rest of the guests all moved out.

The men and Grandchildren had helped do many of the evening chores but once the last of them were on their way Chet helped finish up the chore you just don't let the grandkids do. Mucking out the stalls was a smelly job and a bit more heavy duty than children could do but a strong backed fireman made a good addition to the ranch hand in getting the job done.

Carl and his ranch hand Jose joked back and forth in Spanish as Chet helped them with the chore. Little did they know that Chet knew just enough Spanish to know that they were making fun of him behind his back. It wasn't too bad though most of the talk was pointing out that Chet wasn't a pretty boy like the guys Carl's daughters kept bringing around for Julie to meet, the term, not afraid to get his boots dirty, was understood and when it was time to place fresh straw on the floor of the barn Jose was verbally amazed that Chet knew the difference between straw and hay. At least he sounded amazed but not nearly as much as when Chet spoke to him in broken Spanish as they closed up the barn after putting the cattle in for the night.

While Carl and Jose saddled their horses to make one last ride to check on the flock Chet slipped up into the bunk house where he showered and dressed in the nicest non firefighting clothes his sister had packed for him and then put the rest of his clothes in the wash, minus his dress uniform of course, that needed to be dry-cleaned. Before he slipped his uniform in the wash he removed his badge and placed it in his wallet then retrieved the box from his pants pocket.

He had wanted to give the contents of that box to Julie at Disneyland but plans had to be changed. He had kept it in his locker at the station wondering at times if he'd ever get a chance to give it to her and then slipped it in his pocket just before he ran across the street to climb into Jack's semi. Tonight was the night.

By now Chet was a welcomed guest and had been told he didn't need to knock just let himself in. That is what he did. He heard humming in the kitchen and followed the sound to find Julie rolling out pie crust. Chet watched as she rolled the flattened pie crust onto her rolling tool, it was different than any rolling pin he had ever used, once she had the crust rolled on the long round dowel she was using she lay it over the pie plate and unrolled it again before carefully tucking it into the pan and making appropriate punctures. Julie then popped the lids off of two quart jars of what looked like home canned cherries, after draining the liquid off but saving it the cherries were dumped into the pie crust and then a portion of the liquid had a few things added without the need of a measuring spoon before she added the liquid to the filling and then rolling the top crust on her rolling pin she placed it on the top and carefully cut it to shape before pinching the crusts together with her thumb and forefinger to create a decorative scalloped edge. The stray pieces of crust were lain out on a cookie sheet and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They'd go in the oven toward the end of the cooking time.

Julie smiled at Chet and then taking the unbaked pie in her hands turned her back on him to put it in the oven. When she closed the oven door she found Chet on one knee before her.

Tears started to drip down Julie's cheek as the corners of her lips turned upward.

"Julie Clark, will-"

"Yes." Julie cut him off.

Chet started to giggle, "Aren't you supposed to let me finish the question first, I might be asking you to strip naked and run through the woods with me."

"Yes to that too, but we'll have to find someplace a little warmer than it is here right now and we'll have to wait till after we're married."

Still on one knee Chet slipped the ring onto Julie's flour covered finger and continued what he had been rehearsing for weeks. "Julie Clark will you please join me in holy matrimony and spend the rest of our lives walking side by side through all the adventures that are yet to come."

"Yes, through whatever life has in store for each of us, the good times the bad times and everything in between."

"It's not a diamond," Chet began to apologize before Julie had a chance to look at the ring to closely. "I'll get you one if you want."

"It's a fire opal," Julie reveled that she had recognized it. "How did you know it was my favorite?"

Chet blushed, "Frank told me, he pointed it out to me and told me that you'd really like it the day we went to the mall to get him some new shoes. I went back later without him to get it. I didn't want him to spoil my surprised."

Julie's tears flowed in fresh supply as she nodded her head, "He would have."

"He teased me all the way home about the kiss on the lips you gave me when we said good-bye as the station." Julie knelt down on the floor in front of Chet to join his height.

"I love you Chester Kelly; you're the real man that I often wondered if I'd ever find." She threw her arms around his neck and they locked in a passionate embrace.

That's when her father and Jose stomped through the back door shaking the mud and fresh falling snow off their boots. "Julie could you whip up some hot chocolate, it's colder than a witches backside out there."

That's when he noticed Chet's back and his shoes around the side of the counter and bending to the side to see what was going on it wasn't hard at all to see his daughter's arms around the fireman's neck or the brand new sparkly thing on her finger.

"Sure daddy, it will take just a second." Julie jumped to her feet and turned her tear streaked face away from her father as she opened the refrigerator door to pull out a bottle of milk.

Chet too got to his feet and not feeling as if he had been out of line or anything like that, after all he had been given permission. He just looked at his future father-in-law totally lost for words.

While Julie pulled a pan onto the stove top and filled it with milk, again without measuring, and then reached for the sugar and coco in the cupboard. Carl Clark shifted his eyes back and forth from his daughter and his soon to be son-in-law. He too was totally lost for words.

It was Jose who knew how to break the spell, he started singing. The words of his song were laced with his Spanish accent as he rolled all of his r's. "Can she bake a Cherry pie, Chester boy, Chester boy? Can she bake a Cherry pie Charming Chester?"

At hearing the words Charming Chester, Julie started to giggle through her tears as she continued to stir up the hot chocolate. It was her father that sang the next verse.

"Yes she can bake a cherry pie fast as you can wink your eye; she's a young thing and shouldn't leave her father."

Julie turned to her father in mock surprise, "After all the lectures, all these years about me needing to settle down and give you more grandchildren!"

"I have one little moment of regret and that's when I find out she's listened to me all these years."

Carl wrapped his arms around both Julie and Chet and they came together in a group hug that lasted until the hot chocolate started to bubble on the stove.

There was talk and joking as they drank two batches of hot chocolate and warmed up next to the fire before the pie was done and also consumed.

As much as they talked there was little said about the elephant in the room that reflected the light from the fire on to the walls. There would be time to talk of that later.

Chet woke up the next morning when the house started moving before dawn to get the chores done. He was stretched out on the sofa with a blanket tossed over him.

The skiff of snow on the ground the next morning was just a hint of how cold that air at least in the barn the wind didn't hit you with those tiny shards of ice crystals that had Chet feeling like he needed to be covered with bandages. The biggest issue with the cold was that it slowed them all down making the chores take longer to complete. Chet was finally told to shower at the house and given an extra warm coat before he was pushed into the truck to head in to town for the training meeting. Julie placed in Chet and her father's hands warm biscuits filled with bacon and scrambled eggs to eat as she drove. Half of the way into town Chet feared no one would show up because of the cold weather, the other half of the way in he was hoping no one would show up because of the weather. The heat from the truck's heater was enough to put him at ease and help him steel himself and prepare his mind for the lessons he wanted to teach these men with good intentions but nothing to back that up.

When they arrived at the burnt out shell of a house they found that the skiff of snow hadn't made it to the town. Even though they were early there were nearly a dozen men gathered around the police officer who had stood under the bedroom window to receive the girls. It was clear from the body language they could see that officer Kurt Marshal was reliving the night of the fire and all that had happened there. Chet made a mental note to talk with the man and find out how he was dealing with things mentally.

Asking Julie's father to keep them distracted Chet pulled a handful of candles out of his pocket and a cigarette liter. Julie then watched as he proceeded to place the lighted candles inside some of the walls to make his point.

The air was cold but with the buildings and trees to block some of the wind it wasn't as cold as it had been on the ranch.

"What if you end up starting a fire?" Julie questioned.

"The building is a total loss to begin with or I wouldn't be doing this," Chet whispered his instructions, "I don't think there's enough flammable material close enough to the flame to catch fire but if it does we're fire fighters we'll but the fire out."

Julie stood guard as Chet set out the candles. He did place them inside jars that were found in the area and then placed them inside what was left of the walls. He then walked over to the rest of the group and listened to the last of what Officer Kurt Marshal had to say.

Soon the Silverton Fire Engine pulled up with more men hanging on the back and sides than was really safe, no wonder the grab bar on the back was bowed. Before Chet knew it he had thirty men representing five different fire stations throughout the county and each and every one of them was eager to learn. It was a little intimidating but Chet took in a deep breath and accepted the crow bars that were being handed to him by Silverton's fire chief, local insurance salesman, and local hardware store manager.

Chet started by telling them about the apartment fire that Frank had watched them put out in California, and how Frank had asked why they pulled the ceilings down before we left. He was quick to agree with one of the firemen in his group, that they couldn't just tear down the walls on every fire. That's when he had the men placing their hands on the walls feeling for hot spots. They were all surprised by the heat a simple birthday candle could put out. Chet them showed them ways of checking out such sources of heat in ways that left minimal damage.

The local insurance salesman also offered that most insurance policies allowed for a night or two in a motel with even a small fire and talked of his plan to encourage people to do that in the future. "I don't ever want to have a family trapped in a burning home again."

"Well, I own the motel in Middleton, it's not much but there's most always a room available, I'll offer a special rate for anyone who needs a night away from their home." Another man in the group offered. "I didn't know that Frank kid all that well but, man, I just can't believe anyone could do what he did."

Chet then accepted the invitation to the local fire station where they did have a room for training purposes, which was out of the wind and cold weather. Even though the room was heated the heat was only warm enough to keep the water in the fire engine from freezing so they all still kept their coats on. While there Chet invited questions and was able to answer most of them over the next two hours. After which warm boxed lunches were delivered from one of the local restaurants. Paid for by all the firemen in attendance out of their own pocket and Chet's lunch was also covered.

While they all ate, the hardware store manager started talking of crow bars and other supplies that he could order for the fire stations at his cost and the guy from Minersfield started talking about how he knew someone back east somewhere that converted a water tanker into a fire truck. There was talk of alternatives to turn out gear that would be cheaper than ordering it from fire fighting supply companies and Chet knew these men served in a different world from the one he came from.

The men were still talking when Julie excused herself, "I've got a quick errand to run."

From the fire Station Julie walked two blocks to an older home in the area. The place was in need of a fresh coat of paint but was otherwise in better up keep than some of the neighbors. Julie hesitantly knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. She saw the drapes part and knew that the occupant knew she was there; she waited a while longer and knocked once again.

Finally the door was thrown open with force as Jessica Brown propelled herself out of the door. "What are you doing here? Come to gloat that you've got my job now?"

"Nope," Julie kept her tone even and refused to join into a fight. "It was offered, but I think you would be surprised to find out how much they were offering me to take it. I'm not so desperate that I'm willing to work for less than you made when you first started four years ago."

"You're kidding," Jessica stared down her opponent in clear disbelief, "but you have a four year degree I only have two."

"Yeah but I'm more immature than you are, I dropped out of school and played around with fire suppression and need to prove that I've grown up now," Julie smirked.

"Look, I'm not your enemy, I never really have been. The reason I'm here is to tell you about a company that's building what they call urgent care clinics throughout the western states. It's kind of like a walk in clinic, medium emergency room type of thing. They really like the skill sets us, out in the boondocks trained medical workers, bring to the table. You have the ability and know how to take x-rays and run some basic lab work." Julie produced a business card from her pocket. "You'd have to move from here but I thought you might be interested. Whatever you do is up to you."

Julie turned to leave but stopped before she took the steps down off of the porch, "Something you don't know is that I was in the next changing room at the dress shop the day your mother told you that if you wanted a guy you had to do what it took to keep him interested. I'm sure by now you have seen more than a few problems with that philosophy in your line of work. What I don't think you know is that you deserve a guy who wouldn't demand that kind of thing from you."

Julie didn't say more she just walked back to the fire station and waited in the back ground a while longer as Chet continued to answer questions. When they finally left they made a stop at the cemetery and after visiting Frank's grave, Julie took Chet by the hand and took him to her mother's grave where, with tears in her eyes, she introduced the two of them the best she could.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Carl took over as the driver on the way home. He wanted to stop by and check on one of the flocks that were wintering on the way. Julie chose to sit in the middle seat instead of the back and was quickly snuggling into Chet, after reaching over and locking his door of course.

Chet noticed his future father-in-law watching them and made sure he stayed respectable and was surprised at the road that Carl turned off on, that is if you could truly call it a road. Surprisingly they did manage not to get stuck and once they were on the paved road once again Chet had a question that showed he knew nothing about sheep ranching.

"Don't you keep your sheep in a barn during bad weather like this?"

Julie started giggling quickly but she did try to keep it quiet. "If you call this bad weather you have no idea how bad the weather can get."

Carl just smiled, "Julie's right this is nothing as far as what we've yet to get. But you also have to understand that our biggest market is for the wool the sheep grow. The colder they are the thicker their wool, if we kept them nice and warm in a barn all winter there wouldn't be nearly as much wool come spring shearing."

"I guess I never thought about that." Chet responded, "I have to admit though that I'm glad I live along the coast line where it doesn't get this cold."

There was silence in the truck for a moment as the occupants watched the snow swirl across the road in the breeze.

"You two talked at all about when you want to get married?" Carl asked.

"Not yet Daddy," Julie answered with a clear tone in her voice that implied, 'don't go gettin' all pushy on me now.'

"I was just thinkin' that if you were to say do it soon here, say in the next couple of weeks now, you two could take that cruise I've got booked and call it your honeymoon."

"Daddy," Julie started then paused to choose her words, "you promised momma, that you'd take this cruise, it was the last request that she made of you. Besides, I'm starting a new job next week, I can't exactly take three weeks off just after I start."

"That's real thoughtful of you sir," Chet followed Julie's lead, "but I'm not scheduled for vacation for another six months and I've already taken some time off to come here that I'm going to have to pay back before the end of the month."

"Guess I didn't think of any of that. Round here your mother and I just always took vacation during the winter when things were quietest here on the ranch. You know no lambing, no bummer lambs to feed, no sheering and sheering crews to feed. Not to mention no wild fires that make it so you have to shift grazing fields in a hurry."

"Or go show the paid fire fighters how to put out the fire," Julie added with a smile.

"Yeah, I've had to do that a few times alright, them government officials and their let it burn policies. Don't take into account a man's grazing lands or what the fires do to their livelihood."

"Still," Carl shifted the conversation back to his daughter's wedding. "It seems like a better idea for the two of you to hurry up and get married, than for Julie to go out there and look for an apartment where you have to come up with first and last month's rent and utility deposits for a lease you won't finish out. Of course it would be best if we waited to for warmer weather to have a reception here in these parts. Like after sheering time next spring but there's no need to wait that long for the two of you to get married. Why I can see now that you're Fightin' to behave yourselves as it is, and I suspect that's only because I'm right here in the truck with you.

"If you stop to think about it you have to go through Nevada to get back home and to your job as it is. The two of you might just as well make it official."

Julie looked at Chet out of the corner of her eye then back to her father. "Can the two of us talk about it before we make a decision?"

"Well you should, it's your wedding you know, just the first of many decisions you're going to be making together for the rest of your life."

The rest of the ride was made in silence but both Julie and Chet could tell by the way the other was thoughtfully rubbing their hand that they were thinking.

When they turned into the main ranch they noticed three unfamiliar cars parked near the main house. The exhaust from two of them showed that they were idling their car's engines and it was quickly guessed that it was for the purpose of running the car's heater. Carl recognized one of the people in one of the cars and pulled up in front of the garage before he stopped and got out. Just as he suspected the six men waiting were consisted of the medical clinic and hospital board of trustees and they were there to talk to Julie.

Taking pity on the shivering men, Carl welcomed them into his home and quickly lit a fire and got it burning good before adding a couple of sizeable logs. He then motioned for Chet to follow him into the kitchen where they would work together to make some warm drinks for the guests while they had their private words with Julie.

Once they were in the kitchen Carl placed his finger in front of his mouth before he reached over and flipped a vent open. This allowed warm air to come in from the living room but it also allowed the men to hear all that was being said in the next room.

"Miss Clark," one of the men started and Carl was silently surprised that it wasn't the all knowing voice of Larry Jackson. "We've done some looking into the pay scale for nurses of your training throughout the state and we're embarrassed to admit you were right when you said our offer made to you yesterday was an insult."

"Of course we do have our own budget restraints to work within," that was Larry Jackson speaking and the look on Carl's face told Chet just how little respect he had for the man.

"Anyway, we are here to make you a more appropriate offer." They could hear papers being shuffled, "Dr. Frick was unable to attend this meeting but he did send along a letter, I'm sure you are aware of the great admiration he has for you and your skills."

There was silence for a moment as Carl managed to get some coffee going and mix up a pot of hot chocolate as well as a pot of tea. Chet was directed to the cupboard where the cups were stored and serving trays.

There was still silence in the room when Carl and Chet carried the warm drinks into the living room and placed them on the coffee table there. They noticed Julie looking over papers she had been handed and watched as she opened a sealed envelope and pulled a card from within reading it thoughtfully. Chet thought for sure he had seen a surprised smile on her face but he could only guess what was written there.

"Thank you," Julie offered along with a smile that was all Chet's and it gave the assurance that she wouldn't be accepting the job. Her life was with him now.

Carl and Chet returned to the kitchen where Carl silently moved one of the kitchen chairs right next to the vent and motioned for Chet to do the same. The two men sat silently with their heads bent toward the vent to maximize their hearing ability.

"Well I see that you have indeed increased your offer, double what you offered me yesterday still there are a lot of, shall we say intrapersonal political type issues in this area that would make employment in this region less than totally enjoyable for myself."

"Before you say no, think about where your loyalty lies. You've been a part of this community all of your life, you know better than most the needs in this area as well as the people." Someone cut in.

Chet could hear Julie's sarcastic laugh, "Yes, yes let's talk more of loyalty, and my part in this community. I don't recall every being considered a part of this community. I've always been just one of the Ranchers that lived out of the way. Never once have I been considered worthy of the scholarships that you trustees award every year.

"I could easily tell you that I'll think about this offer but I won't. It is still substantially less than a previous offer that has been made by a company that is impressed by the accomplishments I've made and the work that I've done, and the working conditions are much more pleasurable than what I can expect if I were to stay here. Not to mention a few other personal reasons involved that I will not discuss with you, I will be accepting that offer. I wish you men luck in finding someone to fill this position. Please however stay and finish your drinks and get warmed up before you take on the long trip back into town."

In the kitchen Carl cupped his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound of his laughter. Chet just kept silent and shook his head, he felt some of the humor his future father-in-law was seeing but he also felt relief.

It wasn't long before Carl was seeing his guests to the door and when the last of them were driving toward the main road Carl turned to Julie and Chet. "I'll go work on getting some dinner ready you two have some things to talk about."

Chet and Julie smiled at each other and moved over to the sofa where they could sit together. Julie set the papers she had been given down on the coffee table and Chet couldn't help but see the card that lay open on top of the other papers. Above the fold was written in large hand writing; _Run Julie Run_. Then below the fold was written in smaller print. _You know you'll never be totally respected or find real happiness here. That mustached fireman may not be a Roy but anyone who cares can see that he makes you happy and treats you with the respect you deserve. Don't forget to send me a wedding invite. Doc Frick_

Chet picked up the card and gestured with it to get Julie to talk.

"Doc and I have done some talking since I got back in town and let's just say, he understands." Julie offered and then there was silence again.

"Who goes first here?" Julie looked to Chet to share his feelings first. "It's not hard to tell Dad's trying to hurry this wedding along but it is up to us. What are your feelings?"

"Hey," Chet shrugged his shoulders, "I've always thought the groom just showed up when and where he was told to. I'll confess I like the idea of just taking you home with me and moving you into my duplex. I have a second bedroom that I was thinking of offering to you but, hey, I like the idea of making it official right at the beginning a little more. But what about you, do you want a big wedding like your brother had, one with all of your family and friends around?"

"Frankly I much prefer the thought of an elopement, if we have a big wedding my sisters, all of them, will probably bring someone for me to meet." The two of them laughed and fell into each other's arms.

The engaged couple talked a while longer, Julie admitted it would be better to change all of her professional licenses over to her married name before she started working, and that she liked the idea of not having to hunt for an apartment or having to move multiple times. She also shared her desire to join Chet in the bedroom, adding that she wanted it to be in an official state.

There was talk of where to find a wedding dress on such a short notice and who they would like to have there as well as who they thought would be willing to travel to Vegas on such a short notice. Then Chet remembered the kitchen.

"You know your father can hear everything we're saying in here don't you?"

"Uh hu. That's why the box with my mother's wedding dress in it is now leaning against the door frame."

Chet turned to where Julie was looking and sure enough there was a box there that hadn't been before.

"I would really like to have my mother there," Chet admitted, "She'd never forgive me if I didn't invite her. I'm sure my brother will drive her and bring my sisters along."

The phone from the kitchen was handed around the door opening and sat on the table just inside the room.

Julie giggled than added. "Where will we tell them to meet us?"

The Los Vegas phone directory was soon added to the table next to the phone, partially on top of the phone.

"It might be a good idea to get the maps out and find a place that will be easy to find for everyone traveling."

Two maps were soon placed on top of the phone book. Never once did Chet and Julie see any more than her father's arm.

"You sure you don't want to come out here and join us dad?" Julie called.

"Nope, you two are doing just fine without me."

Chet and Julie giggled and shook their heads.

"At least I don't see a shotgun," Chet added.

"I've got several that I could show you if you want to see them." Carl called from the kitchen.

"Um, thank you sir, perhaps another time."


	27. Chapter 27

Author's note: Sorry this chapter has taken so long. I wrote it once and then since my Beta is out of commission I let it sit for a day then looked at it again. I didn't like the way it came out at all so I deleted it and started all over again. This time I'm much happier with the outcome but instead of it being the final chapter I need to write one more.

Chapter 27

At Station number 51 in the locker room the men of A shift were gathering to change into their uniforms in preparation of starting their shift.

"Isn't this the sift Chet promised Cap he would be back for?" Marco questioned as he looked at the long unopened locker.

"Yeah," John showed his thoughts were also on the missing phantom. "I'm sure he put off leaving Julie till the last possible minute. I won't be surprised to find out he drove all night planning to get here just in time for his shift."

"I was kind of hoping he'd be bringing her back with him." Roy added as he lined up the buttons on his shirt then absent mindedly buttoned each one. "It was rather clear that group that cornered her at the luncheon after the funeral had a job offer for her."

"Yeah," John smirked at the same memory, "But it didn't look like she accepted the offer."

"Yeah," Roy added thoughtfully, "It did look that way, but it could have just been her way of holding out for higher pay."

"Chet sure has changed since Julie and Frank came into his life. I don't remember the last time I got a water bomb." John sat in his locker to pull his boots on. "He sure took Frank's death hard, I'm betting he's going to still need to talk about it once he comes back."

"I'm just going to be glad to have him back," Marco confessed, "I always know he has my back and what to expect of him. It takes half a shift to figure that out from all the subs I've had to work with."

The men continued to talk about their friend and plan together how they would let him know that each of them were there to talk to when Mike stuck his head in the door announcing it was time to line up for roll call. To their surprise Dutton from the last shift was standing in line waiting for them.

"Didn't Chet make it back?" Johnny questioned before Cap cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Yes Chet Kelly is back," Hank started out. He had stopped by the locker room to give the boys their five minute warning when he heard them talking about Chet and what he might need from them. It was one of those times when he knew he had the best crew a captain could ask for and he left them to their discussion rather than interrupt it. "He was called into headquarters first thing this shift he'll be along in an hour or so and Dutton here has agreed to stay until he arrives."

There were sighs of relief and then Hank noticed the men tensing up once again, like him they were wondering why Chet had been called into headquarters.

The morning went on just like the last four shifts as the men checked out their equipment, checked tire pressure and looked up expectantly every time a door opened.

-0-

Chet finally pulled out of the parking lot at headquarters. He had been told when he left the building that he had an hour and a half to reach the station. Since rush hour was thinning out he was sure he'd get there in plenty of time. The wedding band on his left hand still felt new and slightly annoying but he'd never even think of taking it off. He knew some guys that wouldn't wear theirs while on the job, like Roy DeSoto, for fear that it would get in the way or damaged. Chet's thoughts were on Cap's hand and he was sure he would get used to the ring and liked the symbol that he belonged to someone.

Once the decision had been made to stop in Vegas on the way home it came down to whom to tell and invite to attend. The choice for both he and Julie had been immediate family only. For Chet that turned out to be a simple phone call. Both of his sisters and his brother were having Sunday dinner with his mother. It was common for him not to make those meals since he was often on duty. He told his mother first and was a little disappointed in her response. His brother Danny managed to hook up the speaker phone he'd given her on her last birthday and Chet was able to talk with all of his family at once. It was his sister Chris that asked if it was Julie he was marrying and once they all realized this was someone Chet had known for a while and not just a fly by night romance the excitement began to grow. Danny just happened to have the day off so he quickly volunteered to drive and made doubly sure where to meet up with his brother.

Julie's dad took on the task of calling his offspring with the news and both Chet and Julie had to laugh when he told Beth and BethAnne that this was for family only and they were not allowed to bring any guests. Julie had deliberately chosen a wedding chapel that was most convenient for her sister Anne since they were keeping her down in bed a lot to keep her from going into premature labor. The place they chose was only fifteen minutes away from her house so they were sure she would be alright this once.

Julie had looked totally stunning as her Father walked her down the isle of the little room set up for such activities. Julie wore her mother's wedding dress that was a white western style tight fitting top and a full skirt with a train. Instead of a vale she wore a white cowboy hat with a scarf tied around the brim and cascading around her shoulders. Chet thought he heard one of Julie's sisters say how they hated that dress but Chet knew the moment Julie pointed out the box it was in that it was something special to her. He had the distinct impression that Julie was closer to her parents than any of her other siblings. He was wearing his dress uniform and was glad they had been able to find a dry cleaner that got it cleaned for him in an hour once they got to Vegas.

The only thing Chet could remember about the ceremony was the smile on Julie's face as she looked into his eyes and said, "I do". He couldn't even remember saying "I do" himself but he was assured that he had. He was also aware of Julie's father giving his mother some money to put together a reception in the Los Angeles area and telling her that he'd, "Do it up right," in the spring with a shin dig at the ranch.

There was no time for a honeymoon just yet. Chet had to report for duty this morning and Julie had made arraignments to take care of the paperwork part of starting her new job while Chet was on duty. They were both tired when they arrived at Chet's duplex to find that his sister had cleaned and changed the sheets in preparation of him bringing his bride home. The two of them had agreed however that they didn't want their first time together to be rushed. They would consummate their marriage after Chet was off shift and had two days with no other commitments than their commitments to each other. Chet would wait till Julie was in the stage of getting the new clinic ready to start up and would need to spend a lot of over time to get it ready for opening day to start paying back the time he took off for the funeral.

When Chet finally pulled off the freeway his thoughts turned to his friends at the station. One thing for sure since he was two hours late for the start of shift they would all be there when he got in. He could give them all the news at once and not one at a time. He was sure they would be disappointed to have not been there but he hoped they'd deal with it.

As he turned into the station parking lot he noticed the bay was empty, the guys must be out on a run. He parked, scooped up his cleaned uniforms in one hand pulling them over his shoulder before pulling two packages wrapped in brown paper and string off of the passenger seat and stuffing each of them under his arm. He would take this load in and put it in his locker before he returned for the two pies that were on the floor board where they were sure to stay flat.

Julie had been so nervous about negatively affecting Chet's sleep on the night before going on shift that once he was asleep she slipped out of bed and kept herself busy. Chet woke up to the smell of baking pies and his first feelings were of embarrassment when he realized the only pie tins he had in the house were the ones he saved from his favorite take out place so that he could return them for a discount on his next pie. He then vowed to go out soon and buy her some good pie plates like the ones she was using at her father's house. When he found out that she had used a pickle jar to roll out the pie dough Chet added a rolling pin to the list of items he needed to buy. After eating the wonderful breakfast she had slaved over Chet decided that they would go to a hotel with room service when he got off shift.

After placing the pie's in the kitchen Chet roamed the station. It was his first shift back in two weeks and it felt like his first shift ever. For the first time in his life he had someone waiting for him to get off shift. Someone hoping he'd come home safe and sound, someone he needed to try his hardest to stay safe and sound for. He'd never thought about that before. Right now he was just hoping that he wouldn't jinx himself by thinking about it now. He was also mindful of his responsibility to see to it that the rest of his brothers on the department also returned home. The thought was a little mind boggling at the moment.

The radio chatter penetrated his thoughts as Captain Stanley was heard instructing the squad to head back to quarters telling them that the engine would be along in just a few more minutes. Chet knew from past experience that John and Roy would be there in about four minutes. That was good; he really wanted some time with just those two.

Anticipating their arrival Chet moved back into the locker room and pulled the two packages from his locker. Running his hands across the string holding them closed Chet hoped he was right in what he was about to do. Hearing the bay doors open Chet sat the packages down on the bench in front of his locker before standing in the doorway holding the door open as he watched the squad back into place.

"Hey look who finally decided to come to work," Johnny teased through the open window of the squad before he opened the door and got out. Roy also got out of the squad quickly to greet the long missing Chet Kelly.

"Hey guys could I see you in the locker room for a minute?" Chet called back his voice squeaking with emotion.

"Sure," Roy responded and the two men moved toward the door until Johnny thought of something.

"Do we need to bring the equipment?"

"No," Chet smiled at the thought, "I'm fine. I just have something to give you guys."

Chet continued to hold the door until the two paramedics had stepped through and then he let it slide shut. Walking silently over to the two packages sitting on the bench Chet picked them up and took a deep breath.

"One of the things I was asked to do back on the ranch was to clean out Frank's closet. Julie's dad wanted all of his clothes to go to the training center so that they could be given to others that needed them but I saved his firefighting print pajamas. I thought you guys might like to have them."

Looking for the names written on the packages in pencil Chet first handed one package to Roy. "These are the ones you wore home that time and then your wife took them in." He then handed John the other package, "These have a draw string in the waist so that you can make them small enough for you."

Both men were chocked up and unable to say anything as they accepted the packages.

"Thanks Chet." Roy recovered first as he placed a hand on Chet's shoulder.

"Did you keep a pair for yourself?" Johnny asked feeling if he hadn't he should have the pair he was currently holding."

"Yeah," Chet answered with a moist smile, "I kept the other pair. Don't know if I'll ever wear them but I wanted something to remember him by."

"Thanks man." Johnny finally said and then the sound of the bay door rising once again pulled their attention to the returning fire crew.

Two packages were quickly placed in lockers and the doors closed behind them before one hand was placed on Chet's shoulder and another hand took hold of the back of his neck before all three men stepped out of the locker room into the bay just as the engine came to a stop.

"The lost sheep has finally returned to the fold." Dutton called from his seat on the engine. "Does this mean I can finally go home?"

Cap opened the door to the engine and looked at his returning lineman, there were a couple of things he needed to talk to him about but at first glance he could see the emotion on all three of the men standing behind the engine. At second glance he noticed the supportive hold the two paramedics had on their friend.

There was a questioning glance and a confirming nod between captain and linemen.

"Sure Dutton, get out of here." Chet called and managed to produce a convincing smile for the rest of his crew.

"John, why don't you go get a fresh pot of coffee going while I talk with Kelly here in the office for a moment." Hank ordered watching Chet's every look.

The men headed for the day room while Chet followed his captain to the office.

"Take a seat there Kelly," Hank gestured to the chair next to the desk. Chet complied as Hank pulled a large manila envelope from the file cabinet. "These papers arrived for you last shift."

With a surprised look on his face Chet pulled the envelope towards him and looked over the return address before opening what was clearly a previously opened envelope. Inside were the test results from the California State Captain's exam that he had taken just after Julie left to take Frank home. Not only had he passed the envelope included information about new openings outside the county in state operated firefighting facilities and the forms needed to post for those positions.

"I passed," Chet let out a surprised sigh, "I guess it paid off to help quiz John and Roy for their exam next month."

"So does this mean you're going to be leaving 51's?" Cap questioned, trying his hardest not to put any sound of judgment in his voice. He had felt a little hurt that he hadn't been informed of the test before it was taken, something that would have been required if he had taken it within the county.

"I'm just checking out all of my options, Cap. I was at the state offices seeing what was there when they told me about the test that afternoon. I didn't think I stood much of a chance of passing it but I thought if I took it then I'd have a better idea what to study so I could take it again." Chet talked as he eyed the papers over again half afraid he'd imagined what he read the first time.

"It's kind of like Julie's father told us you went through before you got married. You know looking at other options that would make your wife happier. Of course it's a lot different with me. Carl Clark told me that you were already a crew captain with range fire suppression and you gave it all up for a starting position with the county fire department here. I don't really understand Cap, they're both firefighting positions what difference did it make to work here instead of there?"

Hank did now understand, probably better than anyone else he knew. "Well, with LA County, I work one day put of three with wild land fire suppression I'm gone three to five months a year. When my then fiancé now wife asked me to look into something different what I didn't realize was that she didn't like the idea of having to drive so far to the nearest grocery store or spend a day on the road to buy clothes. Having children in the kind of medical coverage that was there at the time terrified her. When she finally explained it to me it was easy for me to realize that the lifestyle in such a sparsely populated area wasn't the problem and it didn't take me long to realize how unfair it was to her to expect her to live a life so different than what she had been raised in. Yeah, sure it was a demotion of sorts to go to work for the county but the pay and benefits over the full year were better in the long run."

"Have you ever regretted making that move?" Chet asked in all sincerity.

Hank smiled, "Maybe once or twice in the beginning, but all I had to do was look at my wife and I knew I'd made the right choice. Once the kids started coming I never once looked back. This kind of area is much better for raising kids."

"That's something to think about," Chet let out a sigh and sunk into deep thought, "I was just feeling like it wasn't fair to force Julie to live in the bustling city when she was raised where it was a little quieter."

Hank smiled once again, "Julie's father let it slip before we left that she's accepted a job in Oakdale. That's a nice happy medium between the two worlds. Does this mean you two are planning something?"

Chet smiled, blushed and hung his head trying to decide just what to say. This was an announcement he wanted to tell everyone all at once."

"Un hu," Hank saw through the blushing face. "My guess is that the best thing to do now is join the rest of the group in the day room for an announcement."

"Yes sir. I'd like to do it that way." Chet agreed.

"I'll let you tell them about that too when you're ready." Hank gestured toward the envelope Chet was restuffing.

Hank once again led the way as they walked into the day room, "Is that coffee about ready?"

"It will be just a moment Cap," Johnny called out.

"Hey Chet, what did they want to talk to you about at headquarters?" Marco asked what the men had asked themselves all morning.

"Oh that," Chet set down in at the table. "Frank's brother is trying to file a lawsuit against us for teaching Frank the stuff that according to him got his brother killed."

"So does he have a chance of getting away with it?" Roy asked in dismay.

"I wasn't aware that we taught him anything really," Hank spoke his concerned opinion.

"I told them about the pretrial they held back in Middleton where the Fire Chief there admitted that they taught him nearly everything at least between them and the hospital there in Silverton. They said they'd get a copy of those transcripts and if they had all the information I told him was brought out then his brother didn't have a case."

"I didn't spend much time with that family but I wasn't really impressed." Roy added.

"Yeah, well neither did I," Chet reveled "and neither am I, least of all his brother. I kind of got the feeling he was jealous of his brother and all the attention he got."

With that information discussed now it was time to get the next question answered. "Chet you know anything about these pies here on the counter?"


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Chet, you know anything about these pies here on the counter?"

"Um yeah," Chet answered as the color red moved up his body starting at his toes. "I brought them in, Julie baked them for us."

Grins spread through the station. "Did you just bring the pies back with you or did you bring Julie too?" Roy asked

"I brought Julie," Chet was grinning from ear to ear not even his mustache could hide his happiness. "As a matter of fact we stopped off in Vegas …"

The room filled with whoops and hollers before Chet was able to show off his left hand and announce that they made it official but in the back ground no one could miss the moan of disapproval coming from Cap as he laid his head down on the table with his arms over his head.

"Chet I know your happy and everything but you don't know Julie's father like I do. Chet, he's going to be devastated that he didn't get to walk his little girl down the aisle."

"Oh, he did Cap. In fact this whole getting hitched in Vegas deal was his idea in the first place. He just figured it was senseless to move Julie out here and find her an apartment and pay a deposit and first and last month's rent when we could just as easily have a quick wedding and eliminate all of that. In fact he even offered to show me his shotgun collection. Not that it was necessary or anything but yeah, he was there, and so was my mother. She'd have been just as devastated if she missed my wedding."

Cap let out a sigh of relief and started to giggle, "He offered to show you his shotgun collection did he?"

"Yeah," Chet grinned back. He could tell Cap had more to say but he was laughing too hard to get it out for a moment.

"Because of the timing and location and all we kept it to immediate family only but there will be a reception here in Carson in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure my mom will call me sometime today with the when and where. And then you'll all be invited to the thing Julie's dad's going to throw at the ranch next spring he's talking about roasting a cow or a pig or maybe three."

Chet wasn't sure just how much his friends heard because they were busy pounding him on his back, rubbing the top of his hair and pumping his arm up and down as they repeatedly called out Congratulations. There was no indication of any ill feelings from not being at the wedding.

It took the tones sounding off to get life at the fire station back to normal, they all hurried to their positions on the trucks just like they've done a thousand times before and rolled out of the station to a structure fire in an area known to be run down and full of boarded up houses. Before they left the station they knew there was a good chance of homeless people squatting in whatever building that was on fire. Before the engine was on the road the men knew they would be going in and they would need to keep watch over each other's backs.

Once again Chet thought of Julie and their after shift plans but a quick glance at Marco and he knew that's where his attention needed to be for right now and that by keeping his attention where it needed to be right now he would increase his chances of being with Julie when all was said and done.

At the fire in a garage of a house that was already burnt out, Chet and Marco kept a cooling hose on John and Roy as they ran in and came out again carrying man between them. Once the paramedics were clear Cap determined the structure a loss and they remained outside to put the fire out. When no ambulance arrived to take the man John and Roy had pulled out to the hospital Chet knew he was dead. He would later be told that he looked to be several days' dead.

Once the fire was out and the task of reloading hoses was taking place Chet was noticeably contemplative. Hank wondered if Chet's thoughts were on the new wife or the lost friend as he watched him out of the corner of his eye while he went about his duties and reported what he knew and his findings to the Deputy Chief from arson investigation.

Chet had done his job well but still Hank felt a need to keep an eye on him and once they got back to the station he needed to see if he could get his man talking.

When they were once again on the engine heading back to the station Hank was not able to see Chet since he sat right behind him and facing in the opposite direction but one look at Marco on the other side of the engine and Hank knew he wasn't the only one keeping watch over Chet.

Using the death of the victim as an excuse Hank ordered his men to sit around the table in the day room for a talk session.

John and Roy started. They were understandably sad over the loss of the victim but had found both arms showing signs of repeated drug use and repeated the inspector's suspicion that he had died of a drug overdose and his friends placed him in the garage and started the fire to cremate his body. When all was said and done the men were sorrier for the life the man had lived prior to his death than the death itself. They all knew that there was nothing more they could have done.

Marco talked of how grateful he was that Chet was back and that he always knew Chet had his back and what to expect from him. Then the eyes turned to Chet and at first all he could do was nod his head but slowly he was able to speak.

"It feels good to be back too," Chet paused to give his friend an emotional smile, "Still I'd be lying if I didn't admit that everything is different now. So different I almost feel like a boot on his first day at the station.

"I don't know if you guys know this or not but just before Frank was killed, he was sitting in a police car. One of the policemen in the town had noticed that he was sitting across the street watching the house. This is something he had done once before since he had arrived home. Anyway since it was cold out the police officer went back and coaxed him into the car where he could run the heater and started to get Frank to talk. They had been suspicious about all of the house fires in the area for a while and just couldn't figure out why they were happening. The cop thought Frank might know something they weren't seeing.

"Anyway Frank told the guy that we pull the walls and ceilings away from where the fire was to make sure it's out before we leave and that since the firemen in that area didn't do that sort of thing and the smoke detector had been disabled he was watching the house until they could get a new smoke detector hooked up. That's why Frank was right there when the fire flashed again, and why the fire got so far advanced without the family knowing about it.

"When the investigator told me about those things I felt as if I was responsible for Frank's death. Before the guy left he told me that I had enabled him to save the family but it didn't help. It was later, when Julie and her father came to talk with me, Man, I thought Julie would never speak to me again after I told her what I'd done but she just took me in her arms and held me. She told me that to not answer Frank's questions about why we did the things we do would have been the same as telling him that he was too stupid to understand and would have been an insult to him. She told me that he had a right to be answered and that she, she told me that she admired me for being willing to explain it to him.

"When we went to, what turned out to be, a pretrial hearing, I learned that Frank had been told to go watch a place where there had been a fire before. They did it kind of like we'd give someone a quarter and tell them to go to the movies. They just wanted him to go away for a while. They liked having him around to reload their hoses or wash their engine and to make them feel like they were worshiped. Anyway at the trial the Fire Chief admitted that they had either taught him most everything he knew or he'd learned it by watching them do it repeatedly. That's why Frank's brother came here to file a suit against us. They already received a life insurance settlement from the fire department since he died in the act of fighting a fire so he must think he has a chance to get more easy money.

"What is really disgusting though is the Mayor's attitude about the fires and training the firemen or even seeing to it that they have the equipment they need. He actually said that the people whose homes burned to the ground were the lucky ones because their homeowner's insurance built them newer homes and they were better off. Later I learned that most of the towns in that area were so excited that this guy was coming in and improving their area property values that they excused him from getting building permits and therefore he didn't have to have his work inspected when he was done. The insurance company did an inspection when a new policy was started but by then all the faulty work had been covered up. You know when I taught the firemen in the area to feel for hotspots using the house that was burned down, we actually found a hot spot where some smoldering insulation around some wires that had bypassed the main shut off. They had to get the power company to come in and cut the line to the house.

"I don't know what's going to happen to the guy, they've got him in jail and since he was caught at an airport with a one way ticket out of the country to someplace where he's already sent all of his money they're going to keep him there until the trial. They said they would let me know when he goes to trial and that I might be needed to testify but they have no idea when that's going to be because there are so few lawyers in that area and the guy won't have any of them. Not that any of them want to represent him if he did."

Chet stopped talking but there wasn't a person at that table that didn't know there was more he should and probably needed to say. They could understand his presumed guilt with Frank's death, they had all felt it to a degree and hearing what Julie had told Chet helped them too. It was Mike that knew what to say next to get Chet talking again.

"And now you're married and have a wife at home waiting for you to come back after shift all safe and sound. That's got to be real different too. Not to mention if you just got married yesterday you haven't had any kind of a honeymoon. Were you even able to sleep last night? I mean when I first got married it took me a while just to be able to sleep with someone else in the bed with me."

Chet gave a sheepish smile but focused hard on the station's quiet engineer. He remembered how he changed after his wife came into his life and how he was so different after they had gotten married.

"Julie and I were exhausted when we got back to my place last night. She had everything she owned in the back of her truck and we didn't want her to still have it there when she drives into the office today so we took the time to unload everything. There were only two pieces of furniture, a china hutch that she built in shop class and the hope chest she was given when she was twelve. The china hutch is empty but it was big and the hope chest, well let's just say it's packed with all kind of things that she and her mother have collected or made through the years for when she were to get married. I almost called a couple of you guys to come help me move it but Julie insisted she could help. We managed alright and then she rubbed my back to help me get to sleep, but um, she knew it was important for me to sleep well before coming in to work. I sure hope she's going to be able to sleep good tonight because we're going to—" Chet stopped talking with a sheepish grin on his face. As much as he liked to tease there were some things he didn't want to say out loud in front of anyone not even his brothers at the station.

"I'm going to get us a hotel room for the next couple of days and we'll have our wedding night when I get off shift."

From there the talk turned more joyful as everyone offered their recommendations for a hotel. Several were checked off the list right away because they were too far away but before long they knew what Chet was looking for and four such hotels were listed and numbers looked up. From there it was a matter of the first hotel with a vacancy for tomorrow morning. Chet didn't want to wait for a 12 noon check in time and from what Julie had said to him before he left for work, neither did she.

Talk continued through lunch, of peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches with Cherry pie for desert. They were just finishing the last of the pies when the phone rang and Hank answered it, "Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51 Captain Stanley speaking."

"Hi Henry," the caller revealed her identity, "Is it possible to talk with Chester for a moment? I promise I'll make it as quick as I can."

Hank turned to Chet with a smile on his face. "Sure you can talk to Chet, just as long as you understand that if we get a call he won't be able to say much of a good-bye. Oh, and congratulations on the wedding by the way, and thanks for getting him to work this morning." Hank could hear Julie's blush through the phone before he reached toward Chet with the handset. "It's Julie."

As if Chet hadn't figured that out before he was informed, he hurried to the phone and determined not to be ashamed of anything he might say he turned his back on his crew mates. "Hi Babe, how's the first day on the job?"

The reason for the call was to ask little details on all of the new hire paperwork that the two of them hadn't talked about, like whether or not to put Chet on her health insurance and his social security number for listing him as her beneficiary on her life insurance. Talking about how much life insurance to sign up for was sobering, reminding Chet that he needed to change the beneficiary on his life insurance and death benefits. That included his next of kin and a few other things in his personnel packet. When the last of the needed information was given Julie had one more thing to say.

"My health insurance won't start for three months."

"Yeah, yeah, that's normal. Most jobs are like that."

"It's just that if I were to get pregnant before then it would be considered a pre-existing condition and the insurance wouldn't cover it."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Chet started to pale, "Does that mean we need to postpone tomorrow?"

"Well, no, there are means of birth control we can use, but, um, I don't know if you know this or not but birth control pills take up to three months to regulate your system before their effective."

"Really, I didn't know that. So what are the options, never mind, I'll take care of it." Chet was finally able to think straight. Blushing badly he turned to look at his crew mates, namely the married crew mates trying to decide on whom to ask for advice. That was the point when he realized that the married crew mates now outnumbered the single ones.

"Don't worry about it; I'll take care of things there. Just pack the bare essentials and I'll be home to pick you up as fast as I can get there in the morning. I'll call if we get a run and I'm going to be late. No, I'll take care of breakfast just be ready to go."

When Chet hung up the phone he turned around to see his captain standing behind him with his personnel packet in his hands. "I have a hunch that last phone call got you thinking about some changes you need to make in your paperwork."

"As a matter of fact Cap," Chet grinned and he was guided back to the table where his file was placed in front of him as Captain Stanley sat next to him to point out a few papers he was sure his lineman wasn't thinking about.

As Chet made the needed changes to his file he thought of a few other things mostly he thought about the needed items to prevent a little surprise sooner than was wise for he and his wife. "Um Cap, to you think we could stop off at a store sometime today? I'd like to get some champagne for tomorrow."

"Chet," Cap paused to choose his words properly, "It's against department regulations to be seen purchasing such items while in uniform. That includes the personal items you're going to want from the drug store."

At first Chet was confused about what Cap was talking about, personal items, from drugstore? He had mouthwash and toothpaste in his locker. Then Chet's eyes flew open wide as he realized what his captain was so cryptically talking about. Then he immediately turned as red as the fire engine in the bay.

"Look," Roy stepped in, "When you make your reservations for the Hotel, just have them place a bottle in the room on ice and put it on your credit card."

"As far as the other items go," Johnny stepped forward, "I'll take care of that."

"What, do you keep a stash in your locker?" obviously if Chet couldn't buy them while wearing his uniform neither could Johnny.

"No, but I do have connections," Johnny assured him.

The very next time John and Roy were at Rampart John looked both ways before stepping up real close to Dixie and whispered. "Dix I need a favor."

He proceeded to tell the story around his co worker's need and before he was completely done Dixie just held her hand out for the money. Unbeknownst to Johnny Dr. Bracket had stepped up to check on a patients chart while he was whispering his request of Dixie and since they were whispering of course he had to try and figure out what was going on. Just as Dixie was coming around the counter on her way to the outpatient pharmacy Dr. Bracket stopped her.

"What if someone sees you buying those things in your uniform?"

"They'll think I'm buying them for someone else," Dixie answered in all innocence.

"Here you better let me do it." Kell offered, well more like demanded.

Dixie just smirked and handed over the money as Dr. Bracket turned to fulfill the errand, but before he got too far away Dixie asked. "What is everyone one going to think when they see you buying those things?"

Dr. Brackett scowled at Dixie and proceeded on his way to the outpatient pharmacy mumbling softly to himself as he walked. "They'll think I'm a responsible adult with a life of my own. That's what they'll think." And then he stopped to ask himself who the 'they' would think he was hooking up with and…

John and Roy were getting a little anxious standing around the nurse's station trying to look like they were doing something important. Finally Dr. Morton walked up carrying a small white paper bag with the name of the pharmacy printed on it. With a challenging scowl on his face he handed the bag to Johnny. "I presume these are for you."

John made a quick look to make sure it was what was needed and not a prescription of sleeping pills or something worse. "Actually, no, they're for a friend of mine."

The look Dr. Morton gave him was one of disbelief but any time for explanation disappeared when the tones started echoing from the handy talky.

Dixie just laughed as the paramedics raced for their squad and once they were gone she was happy to share with Dr. Morton the news about a student nurse that they both admired as they prepared to somehow make Kell Brackett pay for his cowardly handoff.

The call that pulled the medical team from station 51 out of the hospital in a hurry was canceled enroute so they turned back to the station. John had an ear to ear grin on his face as he walked up behind Chet and handed him the sack with it's not so secret contents.

"They even come with instructions," he teased as he walked away listening to Chet confirm his hotel reservations and to have breakfast served in the room followed by the chilled Champagne and chocolates.

Dinner was just going on the table when Chet's mom called with the when and where for the reception. Chet promised to spend his spare time during his next shift addressing invitations and his friends were told.

The evening turned out to be busy with one run after another. An evening rain and heavy fog had lead to several motor accidents. Long after everyone was ready they all climbed in to their beds trying to get the chill out of their bones and get some sleep.

The night kept them hopping with three fires started by homeless people trying to stay warm, in each case the wood they were using was wet so they had to add other flammable substances to get it to burn making the fire a little hotter than law enforcement felt comfortable with. They were just returning to the station, cold, wet and tired when the first hint of the sun was seen coming over the eastern mountain range. There was no hope of any more sleep for Chet.

The rest of the group hit their bunks for the last hour and a half before wake up tones but as they drifted off they all heard the shower running and wondered if it was running hot or cold.

When the wake up tones were heard they could also smell the fresh coffee as testament that Chet did not make it back to bed.

When the guys went in search of the magical wake up liquid Chet wasn't there. The men wandered through the station in search of their friend, each carrying a cup of surprisingly good tasting coffee. They found him cleaning and organizing his locker and watched as he made sure to place the pharmacy sack in his duffel bag. All of his dirty clothing was being placed in a separate bag, on closer inspection it looked like a pillow case.

The men thought of teasing their team mate but just couldn't bring themselves to do it.

The first person in for the next shift was of course Captain Hookraider, without a word he set to work on the morning shift reports. Then next man in was the engineer and then one of the paramedics. Hank had watched Chet watching the clock and pacing the floor for an hour now and knew without a doubt where his head was. He quietly went to the paramedic who was still in the locker room but in uniform and asked if he would be willing to respond with the engine if a call were to come in before shift change. As soon as he stepped back into the bay Hank started yelling.

"Kelly, get out of here." He didn't have to say it twice.

Author's Note: I'm sure you can take it from here there's not need to get you all more excited than you want to be.


End file.
